


And at night I dream of golden curls and pink hair bands

by Zabn



Category: SKAM (Norway)
Genre: And he has a little secret, Even dislikes him at first but that changes quickly, Even's POV, Isak's a football player, M/M, Tattooed Isak, University, football au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-06-28 10:53:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 57,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15705789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zabn/pseuds/Zabn
Summary: “Pff, as if I would ever get involved with one of these assholes again.” Even says, matter-of-factly, after Aleks he swore himself to never touch a guy from the football team ever again. It's too much stress, too much drama, too much shit. Even can do well without another shit show like that.“I'll remind you of these words, Ev.” Sonja winks, an amused grin on her lips..Or an AU in which Even swore himself to never get involved with a football player ever again, but then he meets Isak....***on hiatus***





	1. I thought I came here today to find the man of my dreams

**Author's Note:**

  * For [amiratazz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amiratazz/gifts).



Even's mouthing the words of the song that's blasting through his earbuds, his head slightly nodding to the beat of it. The pen in his hand’s making quick but precise changes on the drawing that's placed on his lap. Even’s hand stops its movement and a light frown appears on his forehead, he lets out a deep sigh "Faen."

He's been working on that piece for over a week now and it still feels like it’s lacking something important, something essential, but he just can't figure out what it is. He added more details, more shadows but it still doesn’t feel complete in some way. Or maybe he's just being too critical with himself, like so often.

He exhales loudly as he stretches his stiff neck and arms a bit, he has no idea for how long he's been already sitting out here. One hour or two hours? He really can’t say it, drawing always makes him lose track of time, it’s like diving into another dimension where hours run by in the blink of an eye.

Even's body is in the need of a break, his eyes feel dry and tired, his back and neck are still a little stiff from bending over his drawing. He puts the drawing aside and leans back on his hands, his long fingers gliding along the soft grass he's sitting on, the ground's still a little cold and damp from the rain two days ago.

Today’s a beautiful day, the sun’s shining, trying its best to warm up the air and there’s barely a cloud in the sky. The leafs on the trees are slowly changing from green to red to yellow in the most beautiful way. There’s no doubt that summer is slowly ending and autumn is ready to take over. Even has no idea when that happened, summer seems to have flown by in a second.

The campus is filled with young people, occupying almost every available inch of the green spaces around here. Some are discussing topics they just had in one of their courses, some bend over their books, some laughing with friends or people they just met and some just letting the sun shine in their faces and enjoying the last sunny, mild days here in Oslo.

Even actually loves that season change, he loves watching people on the campus at this time of the year. All students still full of zest for action and ready to meet the challenges of this new stage of their lives; first years building new friendships and trying to somehow find their way around campus.

For Even this time of the year, is a time of changes, in which good things tend to happen to him, like meeting his friends as they all started their first year at Bakka, like Sonja telling him for the first time that she loved him, like his mother finally getting married to his step dad. The time between summer and autumn is filled with beautiful memories for Even and maybe that's why he loves it so much.

He startles a little as a hand gently squeezes his shoulder, Even turns his head and his eyes meet Sonja's kind gaze, he pulls out his earbuds to greet her “Hei.”

Sonja smiles apologetically “Hei. Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.”

“Don't worry, I was just daydreaming a bit.” Even smiles back at her.

“Like always.” she chuckles softly and places a peck on his cheek “But what are you still doing here? Wasn't your last course like two hours ago?” she spreads her jacket on the ground to sit down beside him.

“Uhm yeah. I'm waiting for Mutta and Mik, we wanted to grab some food together and I hoped to get some inspiration for this.” Even nods towards his drawing, a small sigh escapes his lips again.

Sonja picks it up from the ground to take a look at it, her fingers cautiously stroking along its outlines, a soft half smile appears on her lips “It's beautiful, Ev.”

“You think so?” Even raises one of his brows “Don't you think there's something missing or it should be more detailed or whatever?”

“I think it's perfect.” Sonja’s still smiling at him as she speaks her words and Even can tell that she's not telling him this because their friends, she says it because she really means it. She's always loved his drawings, she used to be his biggest fan, maybe she still is.

.

Sonja's lying on her stomach, her head resting on her arms, her thoughts deeply sunken in the book that’s lying in front of her in the grass.

A comfortable silence has settled between them. They've always been great in sharing silence – Sonja reading and Even drawing or editing one of the videos the boys made for their YouTube channel – it kinda had been their thing.

It still is their thing, just different. Their breakup two years ago was inevitable, they just didn't fit as lovers anymore, their love changed during their last year together, it somehow redeveloped to a friendship. They both felt it, they both decided to take a step back – to just being friends – and Even was sure it was the right thing to do.

Even's mind drifts off to the old couple he had seen this morning on his way to University. He reckons they were somewhere in their mid-eighties, but this didn't make the sight any less sweet. They looked so lovely as they slowly walked down the street hand in hand, fingers intertwined and both with tender smiles on their lips. It was pure and simple sweetness and it filled Even’s heart with warmth, but at the same time that sight made Even sad, even a little jealous. He envied them for what they had, for the life they had shared together.

_Will I ever find someone I will grow old with? Will I ever find someone who will still hold my hand when it’s all wrinkly and shaky? Will I find someone who will still smile like that for me even after all the years we've spent together?_

Since the end of his relationship with Sonja, Even has had a few hook ups, but nothing too serious, nothing too committed. These past two years Even filled the void in his heart with casual sex, some of the one night stands extending to some thingy for a month or two, but nothing more. They all bailed as they heard about his issues.

“ _You’re a great fuck, honey, but not worth that kind of trouble.”_ a girl once said and Even wished he actually could’ve taken it as cool as he acted in front of her. He wished he could’ve shrugged it off, but instead the girl’s words stayed carved in the back of his mind, like all the other hurtful words people said towards him because of his bipolar.

It's okay for him, it really is okay on most days, people are just uneducated about his issues and simply assume he's crazy when they hear that he's bipolar. Even's learned to live with that, the prejudice, the appalled looks on their faces when he tells them, he's learned to handle that in his countless therapy session.

And Even has his friends, they're always there, he can count on them no matter what, they're more than his friends, they're family. Even doesn't know what he would do without them to be honest, the boys and Sonja just accept him the way he is, with all his flaws and imperfections.

_'It's you and us against the world, never forget that.'_

As Even told them about what the girl said, Sonja spilled a glass of red wine over the girl’s white dress at the next party they met her. He didn’t want her to do shit like that and he was kind of embarrassed and even a little pissed that Sonja thought he couldn’t handle this on his own. But he couldn’t stay angry with her for long, she only meant it in a good way and she apologized for approximately a hundred times afterwards, promising to never do that again.

Even turns his head to look at her, her feet are up in the air and lightly moving to a beat that only she seems to hear in her mind. Sonja looks pretty and carefree.

.

“Ev.” Sonja nudges his shoulder before she pulls out one of his earbuds, Even wants to protest and put it back in his ear, but in the corner of his eyes he sees that there's someone standing in front of them.

He pulls out the second earbud and puts on a smile as he turns his head to the person standing there, his smile faltering a bit as his eyes meet Christoffer's.

“Halla.” the boy smiles down at him sweetly, so sickeningly sweet that Even has to look away, only to meet William's bored gazed, which isn't any better. Uncomfortableness floods his whole body, he can even feel it in his fingertips, he'd love to get the fuck away from here. What do they want? Are they here to make fun of him? Are they here to continue their team mate's doing since he's not here anymore?

“Chris, William.” Sonja's voice snaps him out of his thoughts, Even turns his head to look at her, she has a friendly smile on her lips, but he can tell that it's fake as fuck. Even smiles to himself.

“Hei, guys.” William finds it in him to greet them as well, that makes Even look up, usually Christoffer does the speaking and William's just standing there, judging you with his cold, unimpressed glance.

Even meets Christoffer's eyes again, raising one of his brows, questioningly. _What do you want?_ The words are tingling on his tongue, ready to be spit out like venom, but he stays quiet.

Christoffer's smile's still sweet as sugar, he just seems to ignore Even's more than obvious discomfort. This whole situation makes Even's skin crawl, it's getting more and more uncomfortable with every passing second. And that he has no clue what they actually want from him and Sonja doesn't make it any better. It's been months since the last time Even's spoken to one of the football guys. Five months to be exact, five months since the incident with Aleks and five months of trying to even avoid only walking past one of them somewhere.

“We've got that exhibition match on Friday and since it's technically the first play this semester we're throwing a big party afterwards at William's. Maybe you'd like to come, the rest of your group is invited too, though.” Christoffer says, there's not the slightest hint of mocking or malice in his voice and it leaves Even surprised. Is that some kind of peace offering?

“Sounds great, we'll think about it.” Sonja says coolly, looking from the boys to him. Even just nods in agreement, he doesn't know why, but he's not able to speak a word.

“Okay, cool.” Christoffer nods, his smile getting even brighter, Even has no idea how that's even possible “See you around.”

“Bye.” William nods, before they turn around to leave, Christoffer looks over his shoulder to take a last look at Even, but before Even can read something in the other boy's expression he quickly averts his gaze, looking at Sonja instead.

Her eyes scan Even's face, there's worry shining in them, Even forces a smile on his lips and lightly shakes his head "Faen, what was that?"

"I have no idea." Sonja shrugs, her eyebrows raised. She studies his face for another second, bitting down her bottom lip and Even knows what she's going to say, but before she can he blurts “No way I'm going there.”

.

“Have you already changed your mind?” Mutta asks as he turns around and hands Even a plate filled with deliciously looking pasta.

“Hmm?” Even hums questioningly, acting as if he has no idea what his friend's talking about.

“Don't play dumb with me, Bech Næsheim.” Mutta points his fork warningly at Even “You know exactly what I'm talking about.”

“Nope, sorry, I have no idea.” Even shrugs and stuffs a fork full of pasta in his mouth, smiling dumbly at Mutta, who's sitting at the other side of the table in their kitchen.

“You act like a child, do you know that?” Mutta rolls his eyes, before he starts digging in himself.

Even swallows the bite in his mouth and says “First I'm not acting like a child, second no I haven't changed my mind, I'm not coming with you guys.”

“Ev.” Mutta sighs deeply “I know you had your differences with Aleks, but he's not in the team anymore. You used to love to go to those games.”

Even chews on his inner cheek, his eyes staring at Mutta for a few breaths before he quietly says “I know, Mutta. It's just, what if they're plotting something?” He still doesn't quite trust this questionably invitation. Why now, why not already months ago?

“What? You really think they would do something like that?”

“Ugh, I don't know. I have no clue what they have in petto, though.” Even let's his shoulders sink, picking at his pasta.

“I don't think they still have contact with Aleks, though, they never seemed to be really friends with him. It always more seemed like they only put up with him because he was a good player. And he's in the states now, so I don't think you need to worry about that.” Mutta lays his hand on Even's, smiling comfortingly “We'll be there and we'd love to have you with us, it's been a long ass time since the last time we went to a game together, Ev.”

As annoying as it sometimes is to live with Mutta and Mikael, it's actually one of the best decisions Even has made throughout his life.

_'It's you and us against the world, never forget that.'_

“Okay, I'll come with you.” Even eventually says. Mutta's right, it's been so long since he's been with them at a game, it's time to put this whole shit with Aleks finally behind him. The asshole's gone, he lives on another continent and the rest of the team has no reason to plot something against him.

.

The squad is rather excited on their way to the game, it's only Even, who's a bit nervous. No matter how hard he tries, he just can't shake off the feeling that something's going to happen today, the worry's lingering in the back of his mind since he woke up today.

“Is everything okay?” Sonja gently squeezes his arm, scanning his face with a hint of concern in her gaze.

“Yeah, I.., it's just a bit weird, to be honest.” Even admits, but he smiles at her.

“It's going to be fun, you'll see.” Sonja tries to encourage him, giving his arm another squeeze “I heard they have two or three new players, can't wait to check them out, though.”

“Jeez, I already forgot that this is the only reason why you're coming along to these games.” Even huffs out a chuckle, lightly shaking his head.

“Footballer might be douches, but you can't deny that they're hot.” Sonja grins at him.

“No one can be so hot that you actually forget that he's a complete douche.” Even retorts, making Sonja sigh deeply “Even, you just gotta look at these guys, you don't have to date them or marry them, though.”

“What? I thought I came here today to find the man of my dreams. My future husband.” he exclaims dramatically, putting a hand on his heart.

“You're such an idiot.” Sonja rolls her eyes as she gently shoves his shoulder.

Even barks out a laugh and raises his brows “Too dramatic?”

“Don't jinx it, though.”

“Pff, as if I would ever get involved with one of these assholes again.” Even says, matter-of-factly, after Aleks he swore himself to never touch a guy from the football team ever again. It's too much stress, too much drama, too much shit. Even can do well without another shit show like that.

“I'll remind you of these words, Ev.” Sonja winks, an amused grin on her lips.

.

“Guys, over there.” Mikael nods towards a row of free seats in the middle of the stands.

“Can't we sit up front? It feels like you're in the midst of the field when you're somewhere in the front.” Elias suggests, looking at them with pleading eyes.

Even huffs out a chuckle “You sure it's because of that or is it rather because you've forgotten your glasses again?”

“You're too good at exposing my ass, Ev.” Elias lightly shakes his head, but joins the squad's laughter a few seconds later.

They're lucky, cause they actually find seats in the third row, quite in the middle of the field, Even would say that the seats are amazing.

As they're all seated the talking about the game starts, Even leans back in his seat and listens interested to the words of his friends. He hasn't kept up with the stuff that happened in the past five months in the football team, the only thing he knows is that Aleks isn't here anymore and that's the most important to know.

“What, they're putting a newbie on Aleks' position? I thought they'll put Chris there or Jonas.” Yousef raises his eyebrows, disbelievingly shaking his head.

“I heard he's pretty good, plays since he's five or something.” Mutta shrugs.

“Just because you play since you're a kid doesn't mean you're any good.” Elias rolls his eyes and Even nods approvingly “Mmh, that's true.”

“You guys are always so skeptical, watch the kid playing before you judge, how about that?” Sonja suggests, looking up from her phone.

“Says the one who's only here to check the players out.” Elias laughs, earning himself a smack on the back of his head from her.

“Hey, ouch.” Elias rubs the back of his head, pouting.

“It's what you deserve.” Sonja sticks out her tongue, the rest of the boys break out into laughter.

Even really missed to go to these plays with his friends, he missed the speculations, the silly bets the boys made before, the banter, the excitement to share some kind of passion with them. He really missed that.

.

As the whistle of the referee starts the game, the boys end their talking, their eyes fixed on the field now, even Sonja puts away her phone.

Even let's his gaze wander around the guys on the field, his eyes meet Christoffer's for a second, the boy smiles at him, like he did a few days ago at the campus. Even looks away, he just can't stand the boy's goddamn smile. _Why is he always smiling? Has it something to do with me?_

He sinks a little deeper in his seat, trying to make himself smaller, which isn't actually an easy task when you're as tall as a fucking giraffe. He suddenly wishes he would've stayed at home, doing something for one of his classes or working on one of his drawings.

Even tries to look everywhere but at Christoffer and then he sees him, number seven. Even's stomach drops, the pace of his heart picks up on its rate, he feels the color fade from his cheeks. _No fucking way._

“There he is, guys, so watch before you judge.” Sonja leans against Even's side to speak to the rest of the squad.

Her voice and touch startle Even out of his trance, he blinks a few times, takes a deep breath and runs a hand through his hair.

“Jeez, he's a fucking giant, he looks as tall as Even.” Elias states, his mouth hanging open a little.

“Yeah, he just has more muscle, though.” Mutta laughs, nudging his shoulder with Even's.

“Huh? What?” Even frowns, he has no idea what they're talking about.

“Faen, Even.” Mutta barks out a laugh “Where's your head, man?”

“Miles away, I guess.” Even chuckles awkwardly “What were you talking about?”

“We talked about the new kid, though.” Mutta answers, his other friends nodding along.

“New kid?” Even knits his eyebrows.

“Yeah, number seven. Valtersen.” Mutta answers, an amused smile on his face.

_Oh._

“He seems okay.” Even shrugs, trying to sound as nonchalant as he can, trying to hide that he almost lost his shit a few seconds ago as he saw the tricot with the number seven on its back.

“Watch out boys, Even the critic's back.” Yousef grins.

“Guys, the game's down there.” Sonja complains, nodding her head towards the field.

“Alright, alright.” the boys sigh in unison, bringing their focus back to the play on the field.

Even's eyes search for the boy carrying the number seven on his back and as he finds him, his frown deepens, what did he see earlier? This guy is so not Aleks, he's more the complete opposite, though.

Elias was right, he's tall, maybe one or two centimeters smaller than Even, his body looks lean, but muscular. His legs are well trained, his waist slim and his arms look strong, he wouldn't have any trouble to pick Even up. _Okay what?_ Even lightly shakes his head about his weird thought. _Why would he pick me up?_ _Oh yeah, right, never mind._

The boy turns around to one of his team mates and Even can see that his right arm is covered with tattoos, it looks like he's even got his knuckles tattooed. It looks good, hot even.

His hair's a wild mess of golden curls tamed with a thin pink hair band, a few strands falling in his sweaty forehead nevertheless. His hair looks wild, but still soft and kind of fluffy. Even asks himself how it would feel to brush his fingers through it, how these angel curls would feel between his fingers.

Even needs to admit that he's awfully hot, but still something about this boy's dripping with arrogance, maybe it's the deep frown on his forehead mixed with the lightly annoyed expression on his face. Something about this guy is screaming 'douche' so loudly that Even feels the urge to roll his eyes about him.

His eyes follow number seven for the next minutes of the game, his expression stays the same, he seems focused and more than determined to win this game, more than any other guy on the field. Even leans his head on his hands, waiting for the boy to crack a smile, to laugh or change his goddamn too serious expression for at least one second, but it doesn't happen.

He's good, he's actually really fucking good, he seems to be faster than everyone on the field, he seems to be the only one, who's taking this exhibition game seriously.

Even feels someone's eyes on him, as he turns his head, he meets Mutta's amused gaze, he grins at Even “So what do you think?”

“Think about what?” Even clears his throat awkwardly, did Mutta notice that he was actually full on staring at number seven the whole time and not paying any attention to the actual game?

“The new kid. Jeez Even, you really have your head in the clouds today, huh?” Mutta chuckles lightly.

Even decides to ignore Mutta's question and says “He seems to be pretty good. I don't know.”

He looks back down to the field, searching for the black jersey with the number seven on it. The boy looks even more annoyed now and he's screaming something to the rest of his team. Wow, seems like they really replaced a douche with another douche. Can he like smile a little? Would it hurt to smile? Even bets he would look adorable with a smile drawn to his lips.

“I mean he’s quick as a bunny and he seems to have some skills, though.” Mutta shrugs beside him and Even turns his head to give his friend a smile “Yeah, he really is quick, though. But..”

“Are you guys talking about number seven?” Sonja leans closer, looking from Even to Mutta.

“Mmh.” Even hums, nodding.

“He's pretty cute, don't you think?” Sonja raises a brow, smirking at Even and there's something in her eyes that he can't quite decipher. Is she mocking him?

“If you're into the grumpy, bitchy type.” Even shrugs, trying to sound as nonchalantly as possible, he's not going to admit that he actually finds him attractive. How can someone look adorable and douchy at the same time? How can someone be attractive as hell and unattractive at the same time? And why the hell is this guy affecting Even so goddamn much.

Even's statement makes Sonja roll her eyes and Mutta huffing out a laugh “Jeez, that's kind of harsh, Ev. He's just concentrated.”

“I said what I said.” Even shrugs.

“Jeez, douche or not, he's nice to look at. Give him that.” Sonja lightly shakes her head, like she can't believe Even's serious right now.

“Yeah, give him that.” Mutta agrees with Sonja, they both look at him with raised brows.

Even rolls his eyes and sighs “Guys, the game's down there.” He turns his head back to the field, well aware that Sonja and Mutta are exchanging annoyed glances behind his back, he doesn't care, he actually has to hold back his laughter.

.

As the game goes on Even's getting more and more annoyed with himself, he's been watching this boy throughout the whole game, no matter how hard he tried to focus on some other guy, his eyes always wandered back to the guy with the number seven on his back. He hopes that his friends haven't already noticed that he's staring at the newbie like some crushing idiot - they would tease the fuck out of him, especially Sonja since he told her he'd never get involved with one of these guys ever again only minutes ago.

Even has no explanation for that weird dislike-attraction he's feeling towards that boy, he has no idea if he's just kind of biased because of the number on his back or if it's really the boy himself and his grumpy, too serious face. Even asks himself how the pink hair band actually found his way into his hair, how comes that a guy like this wears something so 'girly'.

_Ugh, why am I even thinking about that?_

Even closes his eyes and runs his hand over his face, he's kind of frustrated, he came here to have fun with his friends and not to bother about a football douche and why he's affecting him so goddamn much.

In the corner of his eyes he catches Mikael looking at him with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, but his eyes asking if everything's okay. Even mirrors his friend's smile and nods his head hardly noticeable. _Everything's fucking fine._

The cheering of the crowd makes both boys look back to the game, number seven is jogging along the field, slowly picking up his pace. His feet carry him faster and faster along the turf and that’s when Even eventually realizes that the ball is right in front of him and that he’s running towards the goal.

The crowd jumps up from their seats as he scores and Even does too, he let's himself get carried away with the excitement of all the people, his friends, the guys of the football team. Even huffs out a laugh as Mutta pulls Sonja in a tight hug and Mikael too, they're nearly crashing the girl between them, but she's chuckling heartily, caught in their embrace. It's a sight that makes his heart burst in his chest, seeing his friends happy and carefree like that is one of Even's most favorite things.

“Woooo, Iiiisssyy.” a girl shouts a row further down, she's wildly waving her arms while cheering some more, her long auburn hair swaying from side to side as she does. The girls surrounding her join her loud cheering, they even blow kisses towards number seven.

Oh well, seems like someone's either got a girlfriend – a really gorgeous one – or his own little fan club. Even doesn't know which one of these possibilities is worse and he has literally no clue why he's even caring about this guy's love life. What does it bother him if he has a girlfriend? What does it bother him if he fucks another girl every weekend? It doesn't bother Even, not the slightest.

A loud, hearty laugh down on the field snaps Even's attention back there, something in him urging to know where this gorgeous, delicate sound comes from.

And it's him, it's number seven, he shoots a gorgeous blinding smile in the girl's direction, the frown on his forehead gone, the annoyance in his glance completely vanished, he looks like a different person. His face's beaming and his eyes are shining, like the ones of a child in a candy store. He looks fucking beautiful like this.

One of his team mates, a guy with messy dark brown curls and a huge grin on his face, comes running towards him. He catches the boy in a tight hug, lifts him from the ground and spins him around a few times. And what is that? He's giggling, really fucking giggling in the other guy's arms.

_Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

.

Even sees him at the after party, he's emerged in a conversation with Christoffer, an amused smile tugged on his lips as he listens to his team mate's story. Even takes a deep breath and walks right to the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge.

He has no idea why he even joined his squad for this party, he should've gone home, he shouldn't be here, staring at the new guy on the football team. And he should remember that he swore himself to never get involved with one of his kind ever again.

But Even needs to find out what it is that fascinates him about this guy, he just needs to know. He can do that, right? He talks to the guy, finds out he's an asshole and then he can let go of this weird attraction and continue his life in peace without thinking about him ever again.

“Are you planning to pitch a tent in there?” a voice chuckles behind him and Even swings around, he almost drops the beer can in his hand as he sees him standing there, one of his brows raised, a gorgeous smile pinned on his lips, his curls covered by a backwards worn snap back.

“Huh? What? No. I was just grabbing a beer.” Even stumbles over his words and it's embarrassing, so fucking embarrassing. Listen, Even's cool when it comes to things like this, usually he's the smoothest and most chilled guy when it comes to flirting – okay wait this isn't flirting, just a casual small talk at a party of course.

“Can you hand me one too, please?” the boy's smile gets brighter as Even looks at him lightly frowning “A beer, I mean.”

“Oh yeah, of course, sorry. I think I've already had a little too much tonight.” Even lies and he hopes that the other boy believes that shit and doesn't think that he's all nervous because of him.

“Ah okay.” Valtersen takes the can that Even reaches him, before Even dives back into the fridge, in there he takes a quick deep breath to calm his nerves down. No need to be that fucking nervous and fidgety, that's just a football guy.

Even closes the fridge, cracking open his can, clinks it with the boy's and takes a big gulp. Some liquid courage could be really useful right now.

A silence settles in the kitchen, although it should feel awkward, it kind of doesn't, but still Even feels the urge to say something, he doesn't want to seem like a loser who's too weird to speak to some stranger at a party.

“You were pretty good on the field today.” Even blurts and okay that's not exactly what he had in mind to say. He wants to slap himself, somewhere between the fridge and the counter his resolution to not flirt with the guy went overboard.

“You were there?” he asks quietly, it almost sounds shy and he seems surprised about Even's words. And is that a little blush on his cheeks.

_What-_

“Yeah, of course I've been there. Why so surprised?” Even raises one of his brows before he takes a sip of his beer. He grimaces a little, well, he kind of forgot that he actually doesn't really like beer.  
  
"I didn't think that guys like you are interested in football." the other shrugs, trying to play it cool but Even could swear that the blush on his cheeks turned a shade darker.

_What is happening here?_

"Guys like me?" Even asks, his voice amused. What did the guys on the team tell him? Does he know about Aleks, does he know what happened last year?  
  
"Aren't you an Art History student?" the boy asks, a light frown on his forehead, but it's so different from the expression Even's seen on the field.  
  
"How do you know that?" Even asks curiously, so it seems the guys really have talked about him. Great.  
  
"Good guess." the boy shrugs, looking down at the beer can in his hands. Even can tell that he's lying, Jesus how can someone be such a bad liar?

Even doesn't find it in him to call him out on his bullshit, instead he huffs out a chuckle and teases “So you're not only good in football but also good in guessing, huh?”

Before the boy can answer, the girl with the auburn hair – the possible girlfriend – steps in the kitchen and sighs dramatically “Oh thank fuck, finally.”

The boy looks at her, his expression more than questioningly “What's up, Eva?”

"Sara's trying to get a hold of you, but your phone's switched off, Is." Eva explains breathless, raising her eyebrows and he seems to slowly understand.  
  
"Fy faen.” he breaths as he grabs out his phone, he taps on the screen, but it stays black, his phone's dead “What's the time?" His eyes dart between Eva and Even.  
  
"Uhm it's half past 8." Even says and the other boy curses even more "Faen, really? Shit. Fuck."  
  
He looks at Eva, lays her hand on her shoulder, quickly kisses her cheek and says “You're the fucking best, Eva. Thank you, I owe you. I gotta go. Cross your fingers she's not going to kill me.”

"She's so going to kill you, but I still cross my fingers for you, Issy baby." Eva smiles at him sympathetically as she hands Isak a set of keys "You haven't been drinking, have you?"

"Just a sip of beer." the boy shows her his can, Eva sighs and nods "Okay fine, be carefull and don't speed, okay?"

“I'll try. See you later. And be quiet when you come home.”

“Always.” Eva smiles over her shoulder as she disappears in the party crowd again.

The guy seems to sort his thoughts for a few seconds before he says to Even “Uhm I gotta go, but it was nice meeting you. Maybe I'll see you at one of our next games...” and it sounds more like a question than a statement and it takes Even a moment to realize that the other boy wants to know his name.

_Oh right._

“Even.” he smiles at him, and the boy mouths his name silently before he smiles again “I'm Isak and now I really have to fucking go. See you around.”

"See you around, Isak." Even nods, mirroring his smile before Isak walks away with quick steps. He watches him leave, still smiling like an idiot and before Isak disappears out of the front door he turns around to take another look at Even, a gorgeous half smile gracing his lips, his cheeks still a little pink.

Even stands there in the kitchen for another few breaths, taking another sip of the awfully tasting beer, he doesn't know why he expected the beer to taste different this time. He makes a face, but swallows the horrible brew anyway.

He has to find out more about this boy – Isak. Even feels the need to know if Isak's really different from his team mates or if it's just a trick to get into his pants. Even has heard Christoffer bragging about their tactics that worked as good on hookups as on the field, way too often. But a part of Even, even if it's just a tiny one – okay it's not that tiny – has a feeling that Isak might be different.

.

Even doesn't stay much longer after his encounter with Isak, he tells his friends - who of course want him to stay, since it's way too early to already leave -  that he needs to work on some important stuff for one of his classes. It's a lie, but just a tiny one. He just needs time to process the feelings that still flood his body when he thinks about Isak. Even can still not explain how that weird dislike for this boy just vanished within the few minutes they've talked. They didn't even really talk, it had only been a few snippets spoken in William's kitchen.

On his way home Even's mind always drifts of to think about Isak's smile, his lightly flushed face. You can't rehearse shit like that, can you? Even's sure you can't, blushing just happens, you can't control it, no way. Even made him blush in the most adorable way, the smile on Even's lips doesn't fade until he finally falls asleep that night. And of course Even's dreaming of Isak – he's dreaming of golden curls and pink hair bands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heii, I'm back :)) ♥  
> To be honest, I'd never thought I would ever write a football AU, but well here I am :)) ♥  
> I hope you enjoyed the start of this verse and stick with me 'til the end ♥  
> \---  
> Baby, this is for you.. SORRY SORRY for the long wait :(( I really really hope you like it .. Luv you ♥


	2. Long time, no see, Ev

Even leans his head on his hand, his eyes following a rain drop slowly rolling down the outside of the big window. His finger is tempted to draw along the track that the rain drop left behind, like he used to do as a kid.

The front court of the university is filled with people, and their colorful umbrellas seem to brighten up the gray day out there. Even lets out a deep breath, making the glass mist up where his breath hits it.

It’s the third day in a row that it’s pouring from the sky, not once in these past three days Even has seen the blue of the sky, the layer of clouds just too thick and dominant to let anything through. The temperature barely made it over 10 degrees this week and the rain makes it feel even colder out there. It's undeniable that autumn eventually took over the city. And Even loves it, watching the rain has something soothing for him, something relaxing and he loves that sort of melancholy that this weather brings with it. Even understands that most people hate this rainy and sometimes really foggy weather, he understands that for most people autumn is just an undesirable and uncomfortable halt in between summer and winter.

“Ev?” fingers are snipping in front of his face, pulling him rather ruggedly out of his thoughts “Are you even listening?”

Even blinks a few times, he turns his head and brings his focus back to his friends, who are sitting at the table with him.

“Sorry.” he apologizes with a small smile, running a hand through his hair, feeling a little uncomfortable with all the attention suddenly drawn to him.

“Is everything okay, bro? You seem a little absentminded these days." Mikael says, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips, looking more amused than worried.

Even bites down his bottom lip, he looks between the boys and sighs "It's just that stupid assignment." he keeps his voice nonchalantly and shrugs his shoulders "It's just, I can't wrap my head around it. The topic's confusing as fuck and I don't really know how to approach it."

“Oh, an assignment.” Mutta nods, pressing his lips together and Even can see that he's not really buying his lie, Mutta knows that something else is occupying Even's mind.

Even's friends exchange quick glances and they're not really subtle doing so, Even knows that they know that something else is up than an assignment, something more. Even has never been good at hiding stuff like that from his friends, they instantly know when he's trying to sell them bullshit, it's like they have a weird sense for that.

"You know, if you need help or something with that _assignment_ you can come to me, to us, right?" Yousef emphasizes the word in a way that makes Even know that his friend indeed saw right through his lie, but the good thing is that they won't push him to tell them what's really up.

He knows that he can go to them with whatever is weighing on his mind or chest, he knows they'll try to help him with everything, even if it might seem silly to them. Even knows he can count on them, but he doesn't want to tell them about this already. He doesn't even know himself what _this_ actually is, he needs to find out a few things himself before he inducts his squad into the mess of his thoughts and feelings.

“Thanks guys.” Even says after a few breaths, it feels a little awkward after the minute long silence between the boys, but they don't mind, they know Even too well. They know that he tends to get caught up in his thoughts, they know that most times Even's thinking too much – over analyzing and overthinking pretty much everything, reading too much even into the littlest of things.

Even looks from one boy to the other, they all smile at him and Mutta speaks for all of them “That's what friends are for, Ev. You and us...”

"…against the world.” they finish the sentence in unison, huffing out a little laugh afterwards.

"Always so dramatic." Even lightly shakes his head, but still joining their laughter.

The boys fall back into their chatter and Even smiles to himself, they're good friends, really good ones and sometimes Even feels like he doesn't really deserve them, not at all.

He feels a little bad for not telling his friends what keeps occupying his mind these days. But he doesn’t want to make it bigger than it actually is, though, it’s just a stupid attraction that he's feeling for that new guy in the football team, it’s nothing big, it’s nothing to shout from the rooftops, just a simple attraction, that will lead to nothing, Even’s still firmly convinced that it will fade as time goes by.

It’ll vanish, sooner or later, it always does and it doesn't mean anything that Even can’t stop thinking about Isak’s smile, about the blush on his cheeks, about that stupid pink hair band taming his soft, angelic curls.

It doesn't mean anything that even after five long days without seeing him Even can't stop thinking about him. It's just attraction, nothing more. And Even’s not counting the days, okay, it’s just simple Math, the last time he saw Isak was on Friday at the after-party and today's Wednesday, makes five days, simple Math.

He runs his hand over his face to clear his mind from these thoughts, it’s not the time to think about Isak, it’s never the time to think about the boy, though.

Even takes a breath, ready to participate in the conversation his friends are having as a high pitched laugh from a girl catches his attention. His head turns in the direction of a group of eight people, they’re walking along the corridor, chatting animatedly and laughing with each other. It seems like Isak's whole squad – the group of girls that cheered for him at the exhibition game and three of his team mates - is gathered together, only Isak himself is nowhere to be seen. It seems to be impossible to run into the boy around here, either he's really not here or he’s hiding pretty well from Even. Not that Even's looking for him.

The boy with the wild brown curls turns his head and their eyes meet, his glance is kind and he even gives Even a friendly, bright smile, but Even quickly averts his gaze anyway, a wave of embarrassment washing over him.

He's already met that kind gaze a few months ago and he asks himself if the boy told Isak one or two things about him and if he told him about the incident a few months ago.

The sound of Mutta playing with the pull tab of his soda can makes Even looking from his hands back to his friends. 

Mutta licks his lips before he cautiously asks "Have you talked to him, since, uhm, you know?"

"No." Even sighs "I haven't, we just nod when we run past each other. But as you know I've been trying to avoid even this."

"Right." Mutta nods, taking a sip from his soda and leaning back in his chair, thinking.

The table is quiet and for a second Even thinks that one of these interventions he's seen on TV so many times is going to happen at any second. His friends are all glancing at him, and again their attempt to hide it is terribly poor.

As Elias takes a breath, Even winces internally, preparing himself for things like _'You should talk to him, he was nothing but nice back then.'_ or ' _Stop projecting all your negative feelings for Aleks to any other guy on the football team.'_ But it doesn't come.

"Faen, I forgot to tell you that there's a party on Saturday, Chris invited us." Elias claps his hand against his forehead. 

"Christoffer?" Even blurts out more than surprised, before any of the other guys can say something.

"Yeah." Elias nods "I talked to him yesterday."

Even knits his brows, since when does Elias talk to Chris and since when are they getting invited to all these parties? A weird feeling's creeping up Even's stomach.

"How can you forget to tell us? I mean your mouth's open like 24/7." Mikael scoffs, earning a punch in his shoulder from Elias.

"Shut up, Mik, I'm telling you now, don't I?" 

"Yeah, man, go on, spill the details." Mikael nods, rubbing his hand soothingly over the aching spot on his shoulder.

"It's on Saturday, a guy from the football team is throwing it, their play got canceled because of an incident in the other team and the party's some kind of alternative program." Elias tells the boys.

"Sounds good to me. We're going, aren't we?" Mutta asks looking from one boy to the other.

The boys agree, it seems like Even's the only one, who thinks that there’s something fishy about this whole thing "He invited us again? Isn't that a bit... I don't know... weird?"

"Weird? In what way?" Yousef asks, genuine confusion written all over his face.

"I mean, why are we suddenly invited to all these parties?"

"First it's only the second party he invited us to this semester and second we've been invited before, we just didn't go, Ev." Mutta smiles softly at him.

"We found out about their parties from others, though." Even sighs "Chris never invited us personally."

"Jesus, Ev, I love you, man, but you really need to stop overthinking every-fucking-thing." Elias lightly shakes his head.

"It's just a party, Ev, we can leave any time if it's shit. Chris is harmless, I think he's just trying to be nice, though." Mikael shrugs, giving Even an encouraging smile and wrapping an arm around his shoulder, squeezing him lightly.

Even huffs out a chuckle "I should really stop overthinking, huh?"  
  
"Just a tiny bit." Yousef smiles brightly at him, patting his hand “Let’s grab some food now, I'm starving.”

As they all stand up, ready to leave, Elias bends over to Even and whispers “Interesting assignment.” He has a huge smile on his lips as he nods toward the doodle of a boy that Even lazily drew earlier while his mind drifted off.

Elias winks at him before he steps away to follow the other boys, Even feels the blush creeping up his neck and spreading across his cheeks. _Fuck._

.

“Jesus, how many people did they invite?” Mutta screams as they make their way through the crowd to get something to drink. The house is packed and the music that's blasting from the speakers in the living room's pretty loud.

“Faen, I have no idea, seems like half the Uni is here.” Even screams back, his eyes working through the crowd, searching for familiar faces.

The house is incredible, it's huge and the interior looks expensive as hell, Even wonders if this guy knows what he's doing. He doesn't want to know how many things people will break throughout the night, or what they’re going to steal. Even has already seen people leaving parties with the weirdest stuff, TV screens, curtains wrapped around their bodies like tunics, toilet seats around their necks, once a guy even left with a fucking radiator in his arms.

“Everything looks so expensive here. Whose house even is that?” Even leans forward to Mutta’s ear so he doesn’t have to scream.

“Elias said that dude’s name is David.” Mutta shrugs, indicating that he doesn’t know the guy either “He’s one of the new one’s in the team.”

“Oh.” Even nods, and after a little shoving, they eventually make it to the kitchen.

“Faen.” Mutta sighs as they stand in there, finally not being pressed uncomfortably against other people's bodies “You want a beer?”

“Nah.” Even grimaces and shakes his head, the taste of the canned piss they called beer at William's party coming back to his mind.

“What about Vodka Red Bull?” Mutta raises one of his brows.

“Sounds way better.” Even smiles. He knows he shouldn’t drink too much or else the alcohol will fuck with his meds, but every once in a while it should be okay to drink.

They make their way back to the couch in the living room, where they left the rest of the group, balancing the drinks for their friends through the party crowd.

Even lets his body fall on the couch beside Sonja, she’s immersed in a discussion with Mikael, Even sips on his vodka and tries to follow their conversation – something about the university’s online newsletter.

“Why can’t we have something fun for once? I mean, we’re always doing the serious stuff.” Mikael complains and Sonja rolls her eyes.

“You’re being childish right now, this newsletter should be something informative, helpful and not something for pure entertainment.”

“But we also need something interesting, so people will read it. What do you think, Ev?” Mikael looks at Even with raised brows, his eyes pleading for help.

“Uhm, maybe you could make a special about the football team. Introduce them with a short profile and pictures, people would definitely read that. Guys want to be them, girls want to fuck them, even the haters are gonna read so they can complain about their privileged asses." Even laughs, meaning it more as a joke than anything else.

"Faen. You're a genius Bech Næsheim. We're gonna make a special about them, we'll introduce them a bit, a photo shoot, like they have in these teen magazines." Mikael beams, nodding along in excitement.

"Are you guys serious right now?” Sonja looks between Even and Mikael “That has nothing do to with serious journalism, does it? And do you really think Mr. Pettersen will let us do something like that?"

"Sonja, we've been making serious journalism since we started. Let's make something new, something fun. And we can name it something like ‘Get to know your university.’ We can introduce new faces every week, we start with the football team, next one will the Drama Club or a Professor or whoever. Soni, this really could be something."

"Hmm, I need to admit that this actually really does sound interesting, though." Sonja chews on her bottom lip, letting the idea sink in "I mean as long as we’re not only doing the sport teams, but also other people."

"Sure, of course, whatever you want, girl, so can we pretty please suggest that to Mr. Pettersen?" Mikael looks at her with puppy eyes.

"Okay, we’re suggesting this idea, but if he does agree, the next story won’t be about any sports team, though.”

"Deal." Mikael agrees and they shake hands like businessmen.

Even is watching that whole scene with his mouth a little agape, what the hell just happened here? Did they just really agree to do what Even only suggested as a joke?

"You seriously doing this?" Even blurts out, looking between his two friends.

"Yes." Mikael and Sonja say at the same time and clink their cups.

Even lightly shakes his head, huffing out a laugh “You know that I was only joking, right?”

“Of course we know, you think we’re stupid?” Sonja chuckles with him “But I think this could become something great.”

.

The world’s lightly spinning when Even gets up from the couch, he runs a hand over his face and makes his way to the kitchen, thankfully a few people have already left and the house’s not that packed anymore.

He opens the fridge to grab some bottled water, he stills for a moment, hoping to hear Isak’s voice behind him, teasing him again because he’s taking too long. But it stays silent in the kitchen and Even feels a little disappointed. A part of him – a little tiny one – hoped to see the other boy here tonight, but it's like Isak's fallen off the face of earth. The last time Even saw the other boy was a week ago, since then nothing, not even a glimpse of the other boy.

Even steps out at the terrace, the cool night air brushing over his face, it's a welcome change to the stuffy air in the house. He finds a smoking Mutta sitting on the wooden railing "Hei, man." his friend reaches the joint to Even, but Even lightly shakes his head "I’ve already had too many vodkas tonight."  
  
"Alright, you okay?" Mutta puts the joint back between his lips and takes a drag, his eyes studying Even’s face.

“Yeah, I guess.” Even’s exhales loudly, he steps up to the wooden railing and leans against it.

It’s beautiful out here, the backyard looks impressive even in the dark, Even can make out a huge pool and some kind of pavilion, but it doesn’t look swanky out here, it looks cozy and welcoming, totally different than the interior in the house.

“What are you doing alone out here, though?” he turns his head to look at his friend.

“Thinking about life and the universe.” Mutta murmurs and there’s something sad in his eyes, but just for a short second, Mutta quickly hides it with a smile and Even asks himself if he only imagined it “Nah, just joking, I came out here because the bathroom was occupied and I wanted to get some fresh air anyway. It’s pretty packed in there.”

“It’s a bit better, though, some people already left." Even says, going along with Mutta’s change of subject. He doesn’t ask, they don’t do this, they don’t push each other to talk about what’s on their mind. They share their thoughts and problems when they’re ready and a party isn’t the right place to talk about stuff like that anyway “Who were all these people, I didn’t even know a quarter of them.”

“Yeah, because you’re not rich, dude.” Mutta bumps his shoulder against Even’s “You up to leave? I think I’m kinda done for tonight.”

“Yes, we should find the others and get going.” Even agrees.

“Alright.” Mutta takes a last drag of his joint, stubs it out in the ashtray and slips down from the railing.

.

The way home is rather silent, just a few sentences about tonight’s party here and there, they're simply too tired, too drunk, too high to have a proper conversation.

Sonja’s sudden giggle breaks the silence, all the boys turn toward her, waiting for her to share with them what's so funny.

It takes her a few attempts to finally speak out the words without giggling in between "Guys, I think someone has a crush on Even. Our kiddo has a secret admirer." another series of little laughs escapes her mouth, as she sees the kinda confused faces of the boys.

Her hand flies up to her face covering her mouth and she whispers “Was that a secret? Did I just disclose a secret? I’m so sorry.” she purses her lips and looks apologetically at Even.

Even has no idea what’s going on and the other boys seem as desultory as he is.

“What?” the boys blurt out in confused unison.

"A secret admirer?" Elias brows shoot even higher up his forehead and for a second it looks like they’re going to be one with his hairline.

“Sonja, spill it.” Mutta says, all the boys nodding in excited agreement.

Even feels his face heating up, a secret admirer? He wishes he could disappear, he prays for the ground to swallow him whole right here and now.  
  
"This guy from the football team had his eyes on him the whole night." Sonja says with an enthusiastic voice, nodding her head in an exaggerated way. Even would laugh if she would talk about something else "I caught him staring at Ev a few times."

Of whom is she speaking? What guy from the football team? Even doesn't ask because he doesn't want to seem too eager to find out who's been staring at him, but he's dying to know, so he silently evokes one of his friends to ask.

"Just because he looked at me doesn't mean he has a crush on me, Soni." Even huffs out a light chuckle, trying to play it cool.

Sonja rolls her eyes “I know the difference between checking someone out and just looking at someone, Even.”

"Is that what you saw or the tequila shots you did with that guy in the kitchen?" Mikael huffs out a laugh.

"I saw what I saw." Sonja pouts, shrugging her arms in front of her chest.

“What guy are we even talking about?” Elias asks eventually and Even wants to kiss him. Finally, finally someone asked.

Although he knows it wasn’t Isak, he still holds his breath as he waits for Sonja to answer “The tall, blond one.” she waggles her eyebrows and Even dumbly blinks a few times – tall and blond? Has Isak been there and Even just didn't see him? No, no that can’t be.

Even can't hold back and blurts “Tall, blond one?”

Sonja nods, but suddenly her eyes widen and she breaths a quiet "Faen." before she runs toward the bushes at the side of the street and throws up.

The boys share a look and they all sigh deeply "Fy faen."

“Who's gonna hold her hair?” Mikael asks looking around the group.

“I think it's Even's turn.” Elias exclaims quickly.

“Why do you even ask? It’s always my turn.” Even exhales loudly and rolls his eyes. The urge to know of whom Sonja was talking about dying down rather quickly.

He walks up to her, puts a hand on her back, drawing big, comforting circles on her back and with the other hand he holds her short blond hair.

.

Sonja's still sleeping on the couch in the living room, when Even wakes up the next morning. After last night Even, Mikael and Mutta decided to bring her to their place, they didn't want her to go home alone like that.

“So, what guy do you think she was talking about?” Mutta raises his brows and Even runs his fingers through his hair. His head's bounding from all the vodka he had yesterday night, he's not really in the mood to talk about that right now, or maybe ever. All he wants is a big mug with green tea, a long shower and crawl back to bed.

“I have no idea, Mutta. And to be honest I don't really care.” Even lies quietly, his voice still sounding raspy from sleep.

“Okay, I see, I'm gonna ask you again in a few hours.” Mutta holds up his hands in defeat, a soft smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Even leaves it uncommented, he rummages desperately through the shelves and asks “Don't we have any tea left?”

“Nope, sorry.” Mutta shrugs.

“Faen, we really need to start writing lists before we go grocery shopping, though.” Even grunts and yawns heartily “I'm heading down to KB, do you want anything?”

“A black coffee, please." Mutta smiles sweetly at him "Uhm and I don't know about our sleeping beauty there.” he nods toward Sonja on the couch.

“You're going to KB?” Mikael peeks his head in the kitchen, his hair still damp from the shower he just took.

“Yeah, you want something?”

“A big energy tea would be awesome, thank you.” Mikael smiles at him and Even wonders how they all can be that happy and well rested this morning, when he feels like a truck has run over him.

Mikael looks at Sonja and knits his brows “Isn't our princess always talking about this tonic coffee thingy? She always praises that disgusting brew to help her recovering from a hangover.”

“I'll see if they have something like that.” Even nods, no idea what Mikael is actually talking about, but he’ll find out if this brew exists when he’s in the shop.

He makes his way to the hallway, puts on his shoes and his jacket, he doesn't take a look in the mirror, he knows that he's probably looking as hungover as he feels, but it's only a trip down the street to the nearest KB, no one will see him anyway. He pulls the hoodie from his sweater over his hair and slips out the apartment.

.

Even swings the door to the coffee shop open and as he looks up from his phone he feels the urge to turn on his heels and leave again as fast as he can.

Although his back's turned to him, Even recognizes him immediately, it's Isak standing there right behind the counter, preparing an order for a businessman in an expensive looking suit.

He'd like to kick himself for not taking a shower and putting on some fresh clothes before coming here, or at least checking his face in the mirror before leaving the apartment. Now he's standing here looking tired and hungover as fuck, wearing the clothes he already wore yesterday night and probably smelling like an ashtray.

Even's sure that the universe is playing a cruel joke on him, he finally runs into Isak after days and he looks like a fucking mess. At least he managed to pull the hoodie over his head as he left the apartment, so Isak wouldn't see his messy and probably disgustingly greasy hair.

He plays with the thought of leaving the coffee shop again for another few seconds, Isak hasn't seen him yet, though, he could slip out the door without being noticed by the other boy and go to the KB he's usually going. He could do that, but he doesn't.

He takes a deep breath and walks toward the counter, hoping he doesn't look half as bad as he feels and that the bad smell of his clothes doesn't make his way over the counter to Isak.

The other boy turns around and hands the businessman his ordered big cup of hot, steaming cofffee, he has a friendly smile on his face and wishes the man a good day. The man steps away and Isak's eyes widen a little as they fall on Even, but the surprised look on his face quickly changes into a smile “Hei.”

“Halla.” Even takes in Isak’s appearance, he looks gorgeous in his black long sleeved shirt and the apron wrapped around his body. His curls looking fluffy and soft, one strand adorably hanging in his forehead, it looks longer when it’s not tamed with the pink hair band. Even finds it wrapped around the other boy's wrist and he asks himself once more what's it about this hair band.

He gives Isak a smile just as bright as the one on his own lips “You're working here?” it slips out of his mouth before he can properly think about it.

“Yeah.” Isak huffs out an amused laugh “Only a few hours a week, though.”

“Oh.” Even smiles and nervously rubs the back of his neck “Good thing that I walked to this KB this morning, huh?”

“Yeah, good thing.” Isak tries to hide his adorable shy smile and Even can see that his cheeks look a little more rosy than they did a few seconds ago “So what can I get you on this beautiful too early morning, Even?” Even likes the way Isak says his name, it sounds nice and kind of soft.

“Well, uhm, a big black coffee, a big cup of energy tea and do you still have that tonic coffee thing?” Even raises one of his brows, hoping Mikael was right with his guess earlier.

“Do you mean the espresso tonic?”

“Yeah, a big cup of that too.” Even nods, relieved that they actually have something like that and he didn’t make a complete fool out of himself in front of Isak.

Even takes a quick look at the pastries in the display and adds “And four raisin buns. Uh, I think that's all. Oh wait a second, I almost forgot myself, though, a big cup of green tea.” Even chuckles awkwardly.

Why is he so nervous and fidgety when he's around Isak? Usually talking to people is one of Even’s easiest tasks, he’s never been so nervous and kind of awkward around someone else ever before.

Isak’s watching him with an amused smile gracing his lips “Looks pretty much like a hangover breakfast.”

“What did give me away? My order or the heavy bags under my eyes?” Even raises his brows, making Isak huff out a chuckle and Even’s heart stumbles over itself in his chest at that sound.

“Your order of course.” Isak winks and takes a step away from the counter to help his co-worker preparing Even's order. Even stands there blinking a few times, did Isak just really wink at him? And why is his heart beating so fast in his chest?

Even bites down his bottom lip, no, no this here can’t develop to a full crush, he can’t get involved with one of these football guys again, he swore himself to never do that again, but now he’s standing here close to throw all his resolutions out the window for the gorgeous new guy in the team.

“Were you at David's party yesterday?” Isak appears back to the counter and tears Even out of his thoughts.

“I have no idea who that house belonged to to be honest, but I guess yeah, Christoffer invited us. The house was impressive, man, and the furniture looked fucking expensive.” Even answers, feeling a little stupid because he couldn't even remember the name of the guy that threw the party yesterday.

“Oh yeah that was definitely David's house. Whenever we're hanging out there, I don't even wanna sit down on the couch, it looks like it costs more than my entire furniture.” Isak amusedly shakes his head while putting the four raisin buns into a waxed paper bag.

Even smiles to himself, it doesn't feel weird to talk to Isak about random stuff like that, this light conversation over the counter here doesn't feel awkward or forced for even one second, talking to Isak feels like talking to someone you already know for a long time, it just feels natural.

“Is that the reason why you didn’t come to the party? Too scared to sit down on the expensive couch?” Even teases, only realizing that he’s giving away the fact that he was looking for him at yesterday’s party as the words are out of his mouth.

“Faen.” Isak quietly breaths, the smile on his face getting brighter for a moment before it falters again, he sighs “I had to take care of something important at home, though.”

“Oh.” Even breaths. He doesn’t know what’s going on in Isak’s life, he has literally no idea and he doesn’t know what he had to take care of yesterday, but still he says “I hope everything's okay at home again.”

Isak gives him a small smile, clearly appreciating his words “It's been hell of a week, but well what can I say, we made it.” He runs a hand through his soft curls, he opens his mouth to go on, but his co-worker interrupts him, calling for him in the back.

Isak rolls his eyes and sighs quietly “Sorry, I gotta help her.” He reaches Even his order over the counter and says “Bye, Ev, it was nice seeing you.” before he disappears somewhere in the back.

“It was nice seeing you too.” Even says, although he knows Isak doesn’t hear his words.

Even leaves the coffee shop with a wide smile on his lips and a warm feeling in his chest. Who would've thought that taking the longer way to the second nearest KB to clear his mind would bring such a nice encounter with it.

.

Even steps out of his room, yawning heartily. As he walks along the hallway to the living room, he hears muffled voices coming from the living room, it seems like Elias and Yousef came over while he was taking another needed nap after coming back from KB.

They’re talking about something in rather low voices, as Even peeks his head into the room, their voices die down pretty fast when they notice his presence.

"Hei." Even steps in the room, looking questioningly at them. It's awkward, really fucking awkward and Even wishes he could go back to his room and pretend this here never happened. The other boys are looking at him with wide, surprised eyes, they look kind of caught.

What were they talking about? Were they talking about him? The discussion must’ve been about him, otherwise they wouldn’t have stopped talking as he walked in.

“Hei.” the boys say a little too loud, a little too cheerfull, feeding Even's suspicion that they were talking about him.

"Is everything alright, guys?"

“Yeah, of course.” Elias quickly answers, chuckling awkwardly.

“Did you sleep off you hangover, yeah?” Mutta asks, trying to break the awkward tension in the room and Even thankfully goes with it “Yeah. Did Sonja already leave?”

“Yeah she said something about lunch with her parents.” Mikael says “And she said thank you for the espresso tonic, though.”

“Oh, okay.” Even nods and bites down his bottom lip, a little was he hoping that Sonja would still be here after his nap, he wanted to ask her about yesterday night, of whom she was speaking before she threw up in the bushes. Even knows that she wasn't talking about Isak, but he's still curious who was checking him out, though.

“Uhm, boys I'm heading out, I need another breeze of fresh air.” Even says before he leaves the living room again with quick steps, leaving his friends and the still awkward tension in the room.

He heads back to his bedroom, grabs his backpack from beside his desk, throws on a jacket, slips in his shoes and heads out again.

.

Even takes a deep breath as he steps out the apartment complex, the sun eventually fought its way through the clouds, dipping Oslo in its bright, warming shine. The air smells pleasantly fresh, as if the rain these past days has washed it clean.

He starts walking, not really thinking about where his feet will carry him, but he's not really surprised that they lead him to the football field at the campus.

Even walks up the ranks, until he reaches the very last row, he looks around, the view from up here is pretty great. It's been a while since he's been here and now that he's here again he regrets that he avoided coming here for so long.

He sits down on the bench, leans against the concrete pier and closes his eyes for a second.

This week has been kind of exhausting, he's got to complete a few essays for his classes and he hasn't really begun any of it – that's him, procrastinating things until they have to be done in a rush, but this kind of stress makes him more productive and some of his best ideas were born in situations like this, but still sometimes his lazy nature comes back at him to bite his ass.

Although he really needs to get things done for his classes, Even decides to draw a little, calming his thoughts down a bit. The weird encounter with the boys in the living room earlier is still nagging at the back of his mind. He wishes he could brush things like that off without thinking about it too much, but he can't. It's just too deeply anchored in him to overthink and over-analyze almost every little thing in his life.

Even grabs out the sketchbook of his backpack and flips to a blank page, ready to begin a new drawing.

Even lets his hand do the work, without much thinking he doodles a caricature of a boy standing behind a counter, a bright smile on his lips. Even's hand works without his brain really thinking about the next lines. In the end it's not surprising that the boy has a map of curls on his head, a remarkable cupids bow, a little mole above his upper lip and a hair band wrapped around his wrist. Even pulls out a bright pink color pen from his pencil case and colors the hair band with it. Even looks at his drawing for quite some time, smiling to himself, the realization that this with Isak is probably more than attraction sinking in more and more.

.

A noise down at the football field catches Even's attention, he finishes the last detail of his drawing before he turns his head so his eyes could follow the source of the noise.

Even almost barks out a laugh as he sees him down there, after over a week of not seeing him at all, he sees him twice within a few hours, it seems like the universe isn't playing a cruel joke on him after all. 

Isak's down there on the field, he's running along the turf, a football rolling in front of him, he does some tricks before he eventually kicks the ball in the net of the goal.

The other boy looks adorably free like this, there’s no hint of a hard expression on his face, no frown, he simply looks happy and carefree.

As Isak turns around, their eyes meet and Isak’s face breaks out into a bright smile, Even’s heart swells in his chest and he can’t do anything other than smile back just as bright.

“Long time, no see, Ev.” Isak shouts up the rows, the smile on his lips getting even brighter, making Even’s heart flutter even more in his chest. And that's when it truly sinks in: This could be something more than just simple attraction, this could be something great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all I'm really really sorry that this update took me forever again, but some things happened these past weeks and I just couldn't find it in me to write..  
> I hope this update isn't all too bad and you liked it ♥  
> Thank you so so much for the comments and kudos.. every single one means a lot ♥♥♥  
> \--  
> Baby, I hope you like this chapter as well, although it isn't the best .. I love you so so much ♥♥♥


	3. He's the reason for that smile, isn't he?

As soon as Even swings the door to his parent's apartment open he smells that familiar smell, he can't really describe it, it smells like comfort, safety and childhood – simply home. A smell that's filled with memories, a lot of good ones but also a few bad ones. 

And there's also the delicious scent of his mother's food in the air, it's mouthwatering, Even always loved his mother's cooking, for him she's the best cook in the world.

Even toes off his shoes and hangs his jacket on one of the free hooks in the hall, he walks further in the apartment and calls out loud “Hello?”

The smell of a freshly baked pie mixes with the other delicious scent and Even gets even more hungry. He told his mom that there's no need to bake a pie especially for him, but Hedda wouldn't be Hedda if she wouldn't do it anyways.

“I'm in the kitchen, honey.” his mother calls back and Even can already hear in her voice that she's happy to see him. He knows that his visits are way too rare, he knows that his mom's worrying, sometimes still too much although Even and her talk on the phone almost every day, but he guesses that it's what mothers do, always worrying too much.

“Hei, mamma.” Even walks in the kitchen and wraps Hedda in a tight hug, she seems surprised, but only for a short second and she hugs him back just as tight.

“Is everything okay, honey?” Hedda huffs out soft chuckle, there's a hint of concern swinging in her voice. Even knows she doesn't mean anything specific with it, it's just the question of a sometimes too worried mother and he doesn't take any offense at the question like he did when he was a teenager.

Even lets go off her and smiles “Everything's fine, mamma.”

Hedda looks at him for a second, studying his face with the caring eyes of a mother, she gently caresses his cheek and eventually mirrors Even's smile “I can see that, baby, you look very happy.”

Even's mom always had a sense for things like that, she could read Even like an open book, she knew things before Even knew them himself. Even knows that his mom knows that he met someone, although she doesn't say anything, he sees it in the way she's smiling.

“Holy crap, I almost forgot that you're nearly two heads taller than mamma.” a voice laughs behind him and Even spins around, he looks in the brightly smiling face of his sister Emilie.

“Emi? What? You're here? What?” Even stammers surprised, but walks towards her and embraces her in a warm hug.

“Surprised?” the younger girl chuckles beside his ear.

“Really fucking surprised, yes.” Even beams at her as they let go of each other. It's been a few months since he's seen his little sister not through a laptop screen or a phone screen “What are you doing here?”

“Oh well, I mean I can leave again if that's what you want.” Emilie shrugs her arms in front of her chest and tilts her head a little. Even can't help but bark out a laugh, she looks the same as she did as a little kid when she was acting offended. And on the other hand she looks so much more different than only months ago, so grown up and what's most important she looks happy, perfectly happy.

“I sure don't want this.” Even wraps her in another tight hug and they both laugh “I missed you so fucking much, Emi.”

“I missed you too.” Emilie whispers and embraces her brother a little tighter.

“Emilie?” their stepdad's voice sounds more than confused as he walks in the kitchen, he's that surprised to see his stepdaughter that his briefcase slips out of his hand.

“Pappa.” Emilie laughs and walks up to him, wrapping her arms around the surprised man.

Hedda and Even let out a chuckle as they see the still confused look on Matheo's face, Even's mom even wipes the corner of her eyes and Even wraps his arm around her – it's been a while since the whole family has been together.

.

The Bech Næsheims have a lot of catching up to do, so the afternoon's filled with eating delicious food, lots of chatter and laughter – Even loves every single second of it. Emilie tells her parents and brother about her exciting life in London, about her studies, about her roommate, who eats the weirdest stuff and her general pretty weird behavior.

Emilie seems to be really content, Even can't remember that he's seen his sister that genuinely happy in years. She was quite a wild child, especially in her teenage years, Even blames himself for those kind of fits and outbreaks she had back then.

His mom was worried about him all the time because of his bipolar and he had a phase in which he refused to take his medication and see a therapist. He expostulated because he didn't want some pills ruling his whole fucking life and he didn't feel the need to talk to someone about the way he was feeling – those were his feelings, his alone.

Because of that self-absorbed behavior back then his younger sister sometimes came way too short and Even's ashamed of the way he acted back then, getting most of his parents' attention, when Emilie could've used it more sometimes.

Even apologized to her years later for his behavior and his sister just shrugged it off and said that he wasn't the only self-absorbed one, that she had been as well. Although Emilie's three years younger than Even, she's a lot wiser than her bigger brother most of the time and she definitely can handle certain things better than him.

.

They stand out at the balcony in comfortable silence, Emilie's smoking a cigarette while Even's looking up at the sky and watching the stars. Emilie takes a deep drag of her cigarette and exhales the smoke again in one long breath. The thick, white smoke slowly floats up the sky, getting thinner with every rising centimeter until it completely fades.

"I met someone." the girl breaks the silence "We've been talking and texting for only two weeks, but I'm already so in love. Is that normal? Is that a good sign or a bad sign? Is that too fast?" All the words seem to spill out of his sister's mouth at once.

Even looks at her lightly dimmed face and blinks a few times, taking a second to process everything Emilie just blurted out. She might be wiser when it came to certain things, but sometimes she's still the little sister that seeks advice from her bigger brother.

He breaks out into a smile, his sister's in love, his sometimes too sarcastic, too cynical sister is in love and Even knows that it's the very first time.

"Chill, Emi." Even huffs out a chuckle, earning a frown from the younger girl and he can read in her expression that she's waiting for more than just these two words "It's totally normal, there's no rule for things like that. Some people fall for the other at first sight, some people take months, some even years. There's nothing wrong with how you're feeling."

"You don't think I'm rushing this or something?" Emilie stubs out her cigarette and bites down her bottom lip.

"No." Even simply says, lightly shaking his head, but giving his sister a soft smile.

Emilie looks at the sky, still chewing on her bottom lip, thinking about her next words for a few seconds "Promise me you won't get mad..."

"Why would I get mad?" Even interrupts her before she can go on with her sentence.

"I don't know, just promise me you won't get mad, okay?” Emilie says, confusing her brother even more.

"You're kind of confusing me." he admits, looking at her with a frown on his forehead.

She rolls her eyes and huffs out a light laugh "I'm gonna tell you about everything soon, Evy, just give me a little more time, okay?"

"Okay." Even slightly nods his head, although her words make him even more curious and a little part of him is dying to know what his sister's talking about. But she asked him to be patient, so he'll be “And just so you know, if you're happy, I'm happy too.”

"That's sweet of you." Emilie manages a small smile.

Even stands up from the chair and takes a step towards his sister “I'm not gonna get mad, okay? Cross my heart and hope to die.”

“Oh my God.” Emilie lightly shakes her head “There's no need to be that dramatic.”

“Okay, okay.” Even huffs out a chuckle and wraps an arm around the younger girl's shoulder and squeezes it gently.

“Now enough from me, tell me about the person, who's managed to put that smile on your lips.” Emilie pokes the corner of Even's mouth, grinning widely at him.

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Even lies, trying to hide the growing smile on his lips.

“Don't play dumb with me Even, I know that kind of smile.” Emilie rolls her eyes and huffs out a laugh “Tell me or I'll tell mamma.”

“Jeez and you're saying that I'm dramatic.” Even lightly laughs.

.

It's sometime early in the morning when Even decides to make his way back to his apartment. Their parents have gone to sleep already hours ago and Emilie has fallen asleep on the couch mid sentence, like a child.

Even covers her with one of his mother's soft blankets and walks in the kitchen with quiet steps, he leaves his family a note, saying he needs to head to back to his apartment to shower and get a change of clothes because he has to be at University at nine.

It's cold outside and unusually quiet in the streets of Oslo, but it's kind of relaxing to walk along here in the early morning hours. Some people are still fast asleep while others already head out to work to start their early morning shifts.

He opens the door to his apartment as quiet as possible, gets out of his shoes and jacket trying to make no loud noises, he doesn't want to wake Mikael and Mutta.

Even's surprised as he walks towards his room and sees the lights of the TV flickering in the living room, it seems like one of the boys has fallen asleep on the couch while watching a show or a movie.

He peeks in the living room and startles a little as his eyes meet Mutta's, the other boy clears his throat and whispers “Hei, where have you been?”

“I was at my parents', Emilie came for a surprise visit.” Even answers and leans against the door frame.

“Emilie's here?” Mutta sits up on the couch, smiling at Even.

“Yeah, she's here for the weekend.” Even lightly nods.

“That's awesome, I hope she's got time to meet up with us?” Mutta scratches the back of his neck and he seems kind of nervous.

“Sure, she already asked about you guys.” Even bites down his bottom lip, an awkward silence settles between the boys. Even can't longer take it and he's also curious what Mutta's still doing up at that time so he asks “Is everything okay, Mutta?”

“Yeah, I just couldn't sleep.” the boy shrugs, but Even can tell that he's not quite honest, there's another reason.

“You know, you can talk to me about stuff, right?” Even raises one of his brows, repeating the words his friends said to him a week ago.

“I know, Ev. It's just that I need to figure out a few things on my own first.” Mutta sighs, chewing on his inner cheek.

“Okay.” Even nods and gives his friend another small smile before he disappears in his room.

.

He lies awake for the rest of the night, he tries to fall asleep, but he gives up after an unbearble long hour of tossing and turning.

 _I need to figure out some things on my own first._ Even knows that kind of feeling, he knows it to well, that's why he still hasn't told the boys about Isak and that he might have a tiny crush on the boy. Even has no idea for how long he's going to keep that from his friends, he already feels bad although it's been only a few days since Isak smiled at him like _that_ and he realized that there's something more than just simple attraction that he feels for the new guy on the University's football team.

Even knows that Mutta's going to tell him about the things that keep him up at night, but it bothers him a little that Mutta doesn't want to share it with him yet, because he knows that Mutta has already talked to the other boys about it. Even guesses it has been the topic of their lightly heated discussion in the living room, which Even interrupted last week.

It's a weird feeling to be left out, this whole thing makes Even feel a little jealous, even a little lonely, although he knows he isn't and he knows he shouldn't take this whole thing to heart. He knows that there's a reason why Mutta's not telling him yet and he's in no way trying to hurt him with this. And he knows that he actually has no right to feel jealous or left out, because he has a secret that he's hiding from his friends as well.

.

Even has trouble to keep his eyes open the next day during his courses, they seem to take forever and he can't remember the last time a day has felt like it's lasting for an eternity.

He drags his body out of the lecture hall of his last course and exhales loudly as he remembers that he promised his sister to meet her right after Uni for a coffee at KB. Don't get him wrong, he wants to spend as much time as possible with his sister as long she's here in Oslo, but he's tired as fuck and his body's screaming for a nap.

Even drags his body to the nearest KB, of course it's the one Isak works at, but his sleep deprived brain's unaware of that fact until he enters the coffee shop and hears his laugh. The sound of it wakens Even a little and makes his heart tingle a tiny bit – okay not only a tiny bit – in his chest and a smile immediately appears on his lips.

Even walks up to the counter, it's pretty busy today, so there won't be much time to actually talk to Isak, but only seeing him is pretty awesome too and Even's happy even if they'll only speak a few words with each other.

The face of the boy behind the counter breaks out into a smile as soon as he sees Even, but it fades a little as his eyes take in Even's face a little closer "You look tired." he blurts without hesitation and there's a hint of worry in his voice.

"Charming as ever, Is." Even huffs out an amused chuckle "Nice to see you too."  
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." Isak's cheeks turn lightly pink as he smiles apologetically at Even "What can I get you today?"  
  
"Don't worry, it's okay. I'm well aware that I probably look like a zombie." Even shrugs but still gives Isak a smile "Uhm I take a black coffee and a cappuccino for here, please."

"Okay." Isak nods and adds with a smile "Your order should be ready in a few minutes, Even." Even knows it might sound stupid, but he loves the way Isak speaks his name, there's something about the way his name rolls off Isak's tongue.

"Thanks, Is." Even says and he's ready to step away from the counter and head for the table in the back corner by the window, but Isak leans a little closer and says quietly so none of the other customers can hear him “I must admit that you're a pretty handsome zombie.”

Isak licks his lips and huffs out a lighthearted chuckle as he sees the surprise in Even's face and the deep blush on his cheeks, Even's speechless, he doesn't know what to say.

The guy behind Even clears his throat, indicating that he's holding up the other customers, Even runs a hand through his hair, gives Isak another smile, because he doesn't know what else to do and heads for the table in the back corner by the window.

He runs his hand over his face, he's kind of embarrassed, it never happened to him before that he turned in a blushing mess when someone complimented him. Even decides to stare out the window until his sister arrives, trying to hide his still pink cheeks from Isak.

“Faen, you look like a zombie, Evy.” his sister's voice startles him out of his thoughts.

"Oh wow, seems like everyone needs to point that out today, huh?" Even rolls his eyes, but he stands up to wrap Emilie in a warm hug nevertheless.

"I was told to tell the truth." Emilie shrugs and sits down in the chair in front of Even "But seriously, you look tired, we could've meet up later. Why didn't you say something?"

"It's okay, Emi, really. I just ordered a black coffee, it'll do its magic. I can sleep later and sleep is for the weak anyway, isn't it?" Even jokes, but his sister only rolls her eyes.

"You shouldn't fuck up your sleeping schedule for me." Emilie sighs and lays her hand on Even's “I know how important it is for you to get enough sleep.”

"This one time won't do any harm, Emi, don't worry. And you know I'll do anything for you, even fuck up my sleeping schedule.” Even smiles and gently squeezes her hand.

"So cheesy." his younger sister chuckles.

"Hei.” Isak's voice tears Even's eyes away from the girl, Isak smiles, looking between the both of them “The black coffee?"

"It's for me. Thanks, Isak." Even smiles at him and he's damning his cheeks for lightly heating up again.

"Okay, here you go.” Isak puts down the mug in front of him, Even finally catches sight of the tattoos on Isak's knuckles. He surprised as he reads the word _hope_ in beautiful, twirly letters. Even quickly looks away again, so Isak won't catch him staring.

“And the cappuccino for you.” the boy gives Emilie a bright smile, which she mirrors “Thank you, Isak.” And Even can already hear in the way she stresses the boy's name that she knows.

“If you need anything else, just call me, okay?" Isak gives Even another smile before he leaves the table again.

“Thanks, Is.” Even nods lightly.

Even pours two tea spoons of sugar in his coffee and stirs it, as he looks back up from his mug, Emilie's grinning at him. He fucking knew.

"What?" Even raises his brows, acting cluesless.

"He's the reason for _that_ smile, isn't he?" Emilie blurts out rather loudly and Even wants the ground to swallow him whole.

"Oh my god, could you please lower your voice? There's no need for the whole coffee shop to know." Even sighs, running a hand through his hair.

"So it's true? It's him?" Emilie's whispering now, her eyes wandering to the counter where Isak's preparing order after order for the flood of costumers.

"Will you shut up and act normal again, if I say yes?" Even sighs.

"He's really cute, though." Emilie grins at her brother, ignoring what he just said "And the tattoos are kind of badass and hot."

"Can you please stop staring, Emi?" Even looks at her with a pleading expression in his eyes.

"I'm not staring, calm down." Emilie dismisses Even's comment with a wave of her hand “Did you guys meet here? Did you fall in love while he was taking your coffee order?” Emilie rests her head on her hand and smiles, ready to hear the whole story, because Even had been kind of vague as he told her yesterday about the boy.

“No. Actually he's in the football team and the first time I saw him was on the football field.” Even shrugs, looking away from his sister, because he fears the glance in her eyes a little, his fingers nervously play with his mug.

“Excuse me, did you just say that he's in the football team?” Emilie's brows shoot up her forehead.

Even sighs and he looks back up from his hands, there's a smirk on her lips “Didn't you say that you're not going to get involved with one of these guys ever again?”

“I know, I know.” Even exhales loudly, taking a sip from his coffee.

“I mean, I see why you threw that rule over board, though.” Emilie winks, but her face gets more serious as she takes his hand in hers again and gives it a gentle squeeze “Just take care okay.”

Even smiles at his sister and squeezes gently back “Will do.”

.

As they've finished their coffee Emilie insists Even on going home and get some rest. Even tells her that he's fine and that he can rest later, but his little sister is not having any of it.

"You're going home now, get some rest and we can meet later again. I need to take care of something anyway." Emilie tries to convince her brother.

"Okay, fine." Even eventually gives in.

"Fine." Emilie nods agreeing "See you later, okay?" she tiptoes and pecks Even's cheek, she chuckles and wipes away the lipstick her lips left on her brother's cheek “We don't want Isak to think that you have a girlfriend, right?”

“I shouldn't have told you. You won't stop teasing me, will you?” Even playfully rolls his eyes and Emilie just grins.

.

Even wakes up feeling a bit more energized after his nap, he checks his phone, there's a message from his sister saying ' _Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite'_. Even rolls his eyes and chuckles, he decides to take a walk before meeting up with her again.

His feet take him across the city, he walks through small alleys without a real aim in mind, he grabs a coffee at a new, cute café he found on his little tour through town. He walks for another bit and after an hour his mind feels clearer and the rest of his tiredness is as good as vanished.

Even pushes open the door to their apartment and as he hears the loud voices coming from the living room it feels like déjà-vu. Even thinks about turning on his heels and leave the apartment again, he doesn't want to cause another awkward situation like he did last time. He stands in the hall for a few seconds, turning the idea of leaving again in his mind, he takes a deep breath and decides to stay. If he catches his friends midst discussing the same thing again, he'll insist his friends to tell him what the hell is going on.

He toes off his shoes and slips out of his jacket as loud as possible, so the other boys can hear that he's home again, but their voices don't die down this time as he walks in the living room.

The boys are talking, loudly and animatedly, about something and in middle of his friends sits his sister, looking between the boys, listening to their words and nodding along, with an amused smile on her lips.

She catches Even's eyes and greets her brother "Hei." she gets up from the couch, makes her way through the boys and hugs her brother "Already forgot that your friends can get pretty loud."

"You have no idea." Even laughs beside her ear.

The siblings make their way back to the couch and flop down, Even greets the boys with their certain handshakes and the boys all smile at him, Even can't shake off the awkward feeling that settles in his stomach again.

Emilie senses the awkward tension in the room and starts talking about her weird roommate in London. The boys go along with that topic and join the conversation by telling about their own encounters with the weirdest people. The tension fades with every passing minute and Even starts to relax again, he even tells a few stories of his own.

Mutta's strangely quiet today, he's pretty much just listening to the other boys and Even's sister, not really attending their conversation, although he's usually one of the loudest among their group. Even tries to ignore it, he tries to ignore the slowly growing jealousy in his stomach, the other boys don't seem to be bothered by Mutta's behavior, of course not because _they_ know what's up, only Even has no fucking clue.

Even looks at Mutta, raising one of brows, wordlessly asking if everything's okay.

Mutta gives him a short nod and looks away again. Even sighs quietly, leaning back on the couch, trying his best not to look as annoyed as he feels, he knows it's horrible to feel like that, Mutta will tell him soon enough, but it still stings and he feels left out.

.

Emilie's telling the boys more about what she's been up to these past months, telling them about her life in London, about all the stuff going on there.

Even slips out the living room and seeks some quiet in the kitchen, he doesn't want to be rude, he's heard his sister's stories before and he just needs a short break, the tiredness washed over him again as he sat there on the couch.

He walks up to the kitchen window and swings it opens and deeply inhales the cold night air, leaning his hands on the windowsill, letting his eyes wander over the skyline of the city.

Even hears steps walking towards him from behind, he slowly turns around and he's kind of relieved that it's Mikael.

His friend smiles and asks “Everything okay, Ev?”

“Yeah, I'm just a little tired.” Even shrugs, he doesn't really feel like talking right now.

“Okay, uhm I just wanted to ask you something.” Mikael gives Even another smile, he knows that kind of smile, Mikael's going to ask for a favor. The other boy takes a step closer and hops up the kitchen counter, his feet swinging in the air.

“Shoot.” Even manages a small smile, ready to hear what his friend wants to ask.

“There's this football game tomorrow and we need to take photos of the team in action for that newsletter thingy. You remember that, right?”

“Yeah, it was my stupid idea.” Even huffs out a chuckle “Still can't believe that you're really doing this.”

“Mr. Pettersen was pretty enthralled by the idea, so of course we're doing this.” Mikael shrugs his shoulders “And since we can use every help we can get, I wanted to ask you, if you can go to the play with me and take a few pics. Sonja's busy tomorrow and you know that the other boys can't really handle a camera.”

“Of course, I'm going to help you.” Even lightly nods, giving Mikael a smile, a more genuine one this time. Sure, he's going to help his friend, although he still thinks it's a ridiculous idea and he doesn't quite understand why not someone else from the newsletter team is helping Mikael.

“Thanks, man.” Mikael beams at him and then he adds in a more serious tone “You should really go back to sleep, Ev, no offense, bro, but you still look quite like a zombie.”

“That's actually a good idea.” Even sighs “Can you tell them I went back to bed?”

“Sure.” Mikael answers.

“Thanks, Mik.” Even says before he turns around to walk out the kitchen, but before he's out the room, Mikael calls after him “Even, wait.”

Even turns around again and raises his brows “Yeah?”

Mikael nervously licks his lips before he says “He's going to tell you. Soon.”

.

Their way to the football game is fun and they're having a lighthearted conversation, Mikael never fails to make Even laugh, even about the most stupid things and Even's glad that they managed to get that back. Even's glad that it's not weird between them anymore, it has been way too long back in High School.

“Is there anything I need to mind? Like do you need some special kind of pics?” Even asks as he switches on the camera and starts playing with the settings.

“Not really, just catch them in action. Catch their passionate faces, their joy when they score a goal. You get what I mean?” Mikael winks at him.

“Okay, I'll try to catch all the emotions a football game brings with it.” Even grins at his friend.

“I knew you'd get what I mean.” Mikael huffs out a chuckle.

“Of course, I mean who wouldn't with your precise instructions.” Even teases, making Mikael bark out a loud laugh “Oh, shut up, Ev. I know you don't need these kind of instructions, you can handle a camera pretty well on your own.”

“Good save, though.” Even chuckles.

Today they sit in the first row, so there won't be any other people in the way while they're trying to take pictures of the players.

Even doesn't know why, but suddenly he feels really excited to be here and take pictures of the team, it's been a while since he had a professional camera in his hands.

He peeks through the lens and takes the first picture as the boys run on the field. He takes a few pictures, trying to get a shot of every single player. As he finds Isak through his lens, his finger automatically presses the button a few times.

The boys are wearing their short football dresses since it's a really warm day, way too warm for an October afternoon.

Even lets the camera sink from his face, he needs to look at Isak properly, not through the lens.

As their eyes meet Isak smiles brightly and he waves at him, Even can't help but smile and wave back. Isak's face lights up even more and Even can feel his cheeks heating up a bit. _What is this boy doing to me?_

Even can feel Mikael's eyes staring at his profile, but he doesn't turn his head to look at his friend, he knows he'll blush even more if he does. He lifts the camera back up to his face and takes another few shots.

The loud whistle of the referee as the game begins startles Even a little and he loses focus of Isak for a second. The boys of the other team look as eager as the University's team, they look determined to take the win home.

The game already starts heated and fast, both teams ready to give everything right from the start, there's no hesitation to give everything from any side.

Even takes a few shots, as he checks them they look pretty good, today's a good game to take the pictures for the newsletter, the players on the field as well as the fans are excited and ready to win this.

Even takes a few pictures of the cheering crowd and as they get louder, some of them even jumping up from their seats, he quickly turns his focus back to the field.

He's not surprised to see Isak running towards the goal, the ball in front of him, a concentrated frown on his forehead, Even can't resist that sight and takes a picture.

A player from the other team comes precariously close and for a second Even and all the other people up the rows think that the guy will steal the ball from Isak, but he doesn't manage to do so. Isak makes a quick move, even jumps a little and the foot of the other boy that comes from behind misses both the ball and Isak's foot.

The crowd cheers and without hesitation and really thinking about it Even does too, he loudly screams Isak's name, getting carried away from the energy on the field and from the crowd behind him. Mikael beside him chuckles amused as he takes another few shots of the team.

Isak passes the ball to Christoffer, who stands freely at the other side of the goal, Christoffer takes a shot at the other team's goal and scores.

The crowd screams even louder, Even barks out a laugh of joy and almost lets the camera slip out of his hands, even Mikael beside him is screaming and cheering now.

Even lifts the camera up again and takes another few shots of Isak, the boy's smiling so brightly and beautufully it would be a shame to not photograph it.

Christoffer runs up to him and wraps him in a tight hug, Isak laughs heartily as the older boy says something beside his ear. Even frowns a little and he quickly moves the focus of the camera to the other team mates. They joy in the team is immense, it's only five minutes in the game and they already scored a goal.

The rest of the game is as strong as the first five minutes, Even and Mikael take a break from taking pictures to enjoy the play a bit.

Even can feel Mikael's glance on him every now and then, he can feel that his friend's watching him and he can see the smile on the other boy's lips in the corner of his eyes.

While they're enjoying the game Even's focus lies on Isak most of the time, the boy's delivering a great game, his feet carry him quickly along the field, the hard expression is drawn on his face again, but this time Even's not annoyed by it, he actually finds it endearing.

Isak's soft, angelic curls are blowing in the opposing wind and of course the pink hair band is also there to keep the curls out of his face. This time he even wears a pink sweatband around his wrist and Even's really asking himself what all these pink accessory is about.

The other team scores a goal as well, Isak runs a hand through his hair and he looks frustrated, he gesticulates wildly with his hands as he shouts something to his team mates. Chris and the boy with the brown, curly hair nod, they don't seem to take offense on Isak's rather harsh tone. The boys proceed to a counter-attack, but it takes them a few minutes to eventually get the ball near the goal and the game's already close to its end.

This time's William who's running towards the goal, Isak and Christoffer are right and left a few steps behind him. William kicks the ball and for a second it looks like he's aiming for the goal but he actually just passes it to Christoffer. This move seems to confuse the opponent, Christoffer takes that chance to confuse them even more, he plays the ball to Isak, who shoots it right in the upper, left corner of the goal.

The crowd behind Even cheers, Mikael beside him does too, he lightly shoves Even's shoulder and shouts “Did you fucking see this?"

“Yes, fucking hell, that was amazing.” Even stuns, his mouth still hanging open a bit.

“That was more than amazing, that was brilliant, pure talent.” Mikael rejoices, wrapping his arms around Even and hugging him out of pure happiness.

The full time whistle of the referee ends the game and they've won, the crowd and the team cheer some more, pure happiness drawn to all their faces. Somehow Even manages to take another few shots of the cheering crowd and the team.

It has been an amazing game and Even's sure that the whole University will talk about it for a few days, he's still thrilled as he makes his way home with Mikael.

.

"Hei, Ev." Mikael looks up from his laptop and smiles brightly as Even walks in the kitchen.

There it is again, that smile that shows Even that his friend's about to ask him for a favor, Even playfully rolls his eyes, but smiles "What do you want, Mik?"

The boy’s eyes widen a little, he leans back in his chair and rubs the back of his neck "Ugh am I that obvious?"

“We know each other for 6 years now. You smile that certain way when you want something and your voice's a glimpse friendlier than usual." Even shrugs his shoulders as he explains. He leans against the kitchen counter, waiting for Mikael to speak.

“Faen.” Mikael blinks a few times, before he lightly shakes his head.

“Spit it out, Mik.” Even raises one of his brows, grinning.

“We could really use some help doing the photo shoots and interviews with the football guys next Wednesday and I wanted to ask you if you can maybe help us?” Mikael looks at him with these goddamn puppy eyes, he knows too well that Even can’t find it in him to say no when he’s looking at him like that.

“Yeah, sure.” Even says, although he's wondering why Mikael's asking him again, as far as he knows there are more than enough people on the newsletter-team to manage that photo shoot and the interviews. He doesn't know why, but something about this is more than fishy, first the photo thing at the game and now this. But he doesn't question it, his friend's asking for help, so he's going to help.

“Oh, thank fuck. We’ve got to do that shoot and interview thingy with 15 guys. We can really use every help we can get.” Mikael sighs happily “And the newsletter needs be online next Monday. I really owe you something, bro.”

"No worries, I'm glad to help." Even winks, okay it's more an attempt of a wink.

"You’re going to shoot one or two guys. Any preferences?" Mikael smiles and there's something in his eyes that Even can't really decipher. Is he waiting for him to say that he wants to shoot Isak? What is this all about? Is Mikael mocking him?

Even decides to play it cool and shrugs “I don’t care, though.” he tries to say his words as nonchalantly as possible, not looking at his friend.

“Okay, good, uhm well, I was thinking of Isak, since you already know his best angles.” Mikael nods towards the laptop on the table. There's a pic of Isak, he's smiling brightly and Even needs to hold back his own lips from curling up.

Even remembers that he took that shot right after they scored the first goal.

He feels the blush creeping up his neck and he tries to find an excuse why he took so many pictures of Isak, but well there isn't any believable explanation he can find right now, so he says nothing.

Mikael lets out an amused chuckle, he looks through the photos which Even took and the other boy's smile gets even brighter as he says “Seems like you had a main focus, huh?”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Even turns around, searching for a glass in the shelf above.

“Faen, Even.” Mikael starts laughing again “I'm talking about number seven, Valtersen. You barely took photos of the other guys, Ev.”

Even eventually grabs a glass, fills it with water from the tap and takes a sip before he turns around and shrugs “I tried to take pics of all of them, he just ran into focus all the time.”

“Okay.” Mikael smirks, trying his best to hold back his laugh “It’s alright, bro, good thing I took pics of all of them.”

Even sighs, but doesn't counter anything, he knows that denying it is useless, Mikael knows, he already knows since the football game, since Isak waved and he waved back.

Mikael continues to look through the pictures and as Even sees a picture of Christoffer and William he says “Look, there’s a good one of Chris and William, though. And there are other good ones of the whole team.”

“Of course there are.” Mikael grins dumbly at him.

“I'm not crushing on Isak.” Even suddenly blurts out and he wants the ground to swallow him whole. Why the hell did he just say that? Of course Mikael knows now that he's crushing hard on the boy with the angelic, golden curls.

“I never said you were.” Mikael's grin gets wider and that's when Even decides it's better to leave the kitchen before he blurts out even more stupid things “But he's a good looking guy, I can see why you're crushing on him.”

“Whatever.” Even sighs and makes his way out the kitchen.

“Is it okay if you shoot him? Even? Hello?” Mikael calls after him, but Even decides to ignore him. He walks in his room with a huge smile drawn to his lips. Holy shit, he's going to interview Isak and he's going to shoot the boy. Holy fucking shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeii guys, here's the new chapter, as always I hope you liked it, although it took me some time again ♥  
> Thanks so much for leaving comments and kudos .. every single one means a lot to me ♥ The reaction to the last chapter has been amazing and I actually cried reading all your comments.. thank you so so much for all the love, peeps ♥ :'')  
> \---  
> Baby, you've been so patient, but now it's finally here, I hope you like it as much as the last chapter and I hope it distracts your mind a bit from all the stressfull exams ♥ ;-* The photo shoot will happen in the next chapter I PROMISE ♥♥♥ Thank you so much for inspiring me.. I love you so much ♥♥


	4. Life is now

He lets the sun shine on his face, its warmth is already getting weaker with every passing day, but it's still way too warm for a day in October. Usually he would sit here with a coat and a scarf wrapped around his neck, but today he only needed to throw on a hoodie when he left the apartment. Even doesn't complain, though, a sunny, warm autumn day is something of the most beautiful things the world has to offer.

He's sitting in the very last row of the grand stand at the football field, like he's done so often these past days. He isn't here for a particular reason, he's just enjoying the wonderful weather, the peacefulness and somehow it's easier for him to concentrate up here.

Even looks back down at his book, the chapter he has to work through seems to be endless and that it's quite boring doesn't really help. He really needs to bite through this or else his chances stand high to fail that stupid class and that's definitely something he doesn't want to happen.

He sighs as he hears the ping of the phone in his pocket, he knows that it's a text from Mikael. Even sneaked out the apartment earlier without telling the other boys where he's going, so he was already kind of waiting for his friend to ask where he left to.

Even checks the message anyway but leaves it unanswered. He'll do that later when he's done with that chapter, he lets his phone disappear in the pocket of his jeans again. These past days Even tried his best to avoid spending time with his friends, he just can't stand that awkward tension in the squad anymore.

Whenever they asked him to hang out, he said he had something to get done for one of his classes or he met up with his little sister instead, trying to spend as much time as possible with Emilie as long as she's here in Oslo. His friends didn't question his behavior, but he noticed the worried glances they shot at him whenever they ran into each other in the apartment or at University.

Elias and Yousef have tried to call him several times, tried more than often to reach out, but he dismissed their requests to hang out as well. He knows that they're worried, he knows what thoughts probably run through their minds, but he needs a little space, he needs a little time on his own.

He even sneaked out the apartment earlier, not telling Mutta nor Mikael where he’s going and that's something he doesn't do, normally he peeks in one of the guys’ rooms and tells them where he’s heading to – that’s what they all do when they leave the apartment – but today Even didn’t even leave a note.

He knows it's not good, he knows it's not the best idea to bottle up this frustration – even if it’s still at a low level. He knows it's shit to avoid his friends and he knows he should just talk to them, but he feels like Mutta needs to do the first step this time. He doesn’t want to be the one begging Mutta to finally tell him what the hell’s going on.

It's frustrating, honestly, Even's frustrated with his own behavior, with his friends' behavior, he's frustrated that something so little manages to change so goddamn much, it’s changing the whole dynamics of their squad. At night when he's lying in bed, staring in the darkness of the room, he thinks that maybe, just maybe they aren't as good friends as he always thought they were. These thoughts are childish, stupid even, but he can't stop them from blooming in his mind and that’s scaring him.

Even stretches his neck and rolls his shoulders to release some of the tension in his muscles. He grabs the book from his lap and puts it beside him, closes his eyes and takes a deep breath and exhales loudly again, trying to shove all these thoughts in the back of his mind.

He leans his head back at the concrete pier, getting a bit more comfortable on the bench he’s sitting on and lets himself enjoy the sun shining on his face for another few minutes. He can use a break before he proceeds with the next pages of the chapter anyway. The sun's slowly warming his face and Even wonders if it's still strong enough to give him a sunburn. He almost laughs at that ridiculous thought, getting a sunburn in October.

Voices coming down from the field cut through the peaceful silence that reigned just seconds ago, but Even doesn't care about them, he doesn't even open his eyes to take a look who's down there. Only when he hears that certain hearty laugh, his eyes fly open without hesitation, immediately searching for his face in the group of boys on the field.

As soon as his eyes find Isak, a warm feeling spreads in his chest and a soft smile finds his way to his lips, the dark thoughts he had just seconds ago almost completely vanished now. Even bites down his bottom lip, Isak's looking good today, he does every day but today he somehow seems to glow. His smile seems even brighter than usual and Even asks himself if he's only imagine it and just seeing the other boy through rose-colored glasses.

The guys start their practice, some things they're doing look rather ridiculous, but the boys seem to have fun doing these funny looking exercises. There's a lot of laughter, teasing and fooling around.

Even tears his eyes from the boys and grabs his book from beside him, he looks at the doodle he's drawn while trying to concentrate on the words in there and lightly shakes his head. Most of his doodles and even the drawings he's worked on lately have shown Isak in some kind of way. There's no need to deny that he seriously developed a huge crush for the other boy.

He can hear someone walking up the stands, but he doesn’t bother to look up from his book, because he assumes it’s only Mikael, who came looking for him. Mikael's that type of guy – when you don't answer in a certain amount of time, he searches all the places you can possibly be at and eventually finds you.

Even doesn't really want to talk to his friend right now, he doesn't want to explain why he sneaked out the apartment. He just wants to be alone for a little longer, he just needs another few hours outside the awkward tension that lingers in their apartment and he doesn't want to hear that Mutta's going to tell him soon, for the hundredth time. The word _soon_ is slowly but surely starting to make his skin crawl.

That someone comes to a hold beside him and Even blurts without looking up “You know, there's no need to search the whole area for me, right? I'm fine.”

“Uhm, actually I wasn't searching the whole area, though, I just looked up the stands and suddenly you were there.” a rather amused voice states.

“Isak?” Even’s eyes shoot up as he hears his voice, he has to blink a few times to get his eyes adjusted to the blinding sun, that's shining right in his face. He tries his voice to sound calm, although his heart’s picking up hell of a speed in his chest “Oh hei, sorry I thought you were Mikael.”

“I figured.” Isak smiles and flops down beside Even on the bench, turning his body towards him “What are you doing up here? Hiding from Mikael?”

“Something like that, yeah.” Even nods, he closes the book so Isak can't see the doodle he's drawn earlier.

Isak leans back on his hands and Even tries to get a subtle look at his tattoos, with what he considers as a quick glance he can see something that roughly looks like a compass and the words _Life is now_.

Even looks back at Isak's face, hoping with every fiber of his body that the staring wasn’t too obvious, but of course Isak's noticed, but he doesn't say anything, though. He gives Even an adorable small smile, one of his brows raised as if he's waiting for him to ask about the art that graces his arm.

Even doesn’t, he just wonders if there's a story behind Isak's tattoos or if he just got them because he thought they were looking good, but Isak doesn't seem to be the type of person who gets tattooed just to look though or cool.

“Shouldn't you be down there and do that stretching as well, Is?” Even breaks the silence, grinning amused at Isak.

The other boy turns his head, his eyes wandering down to his teammates on the field, he shrugs "I think they can manage a few minutes without me."

He clears his throat and adds “Uhm, Sonja…” he knits his brows, as if he's not sure if he remembers the girl's name correctly. Even nods shortly to indicate that he got the name right and he knows who Isak's talking about “She talked to me about this whole photo shoot stuff and the article in the University’s newsletter.” Isak's face twists a bit, the boy doesn't appear too fond of that whole idea.

“We don’t have to do this, Is. I mean if you don’t want to, it’s okay. I can tell Sonja you were sick or something.” Even says softly and Isak looks at him rather confused.

“Hell no, Chris is going to kill me if I'm not attending this whole thing.” Isak lets out a chuckle “It’s just that I can’t make it on Wednesday when the shoot's done, I’ve got to work and I can't ask Mario to switch shifts again.”

“Oh, uhm, okay.” Even chuckles awkwardly “Then we’ll do it whenever you got time this week.”

“Is that really okay, though?” Isak bites down his bottom lip, he looks a little ashamed that he's asking for that extra treatment.

“It's not a big deal, Is, really.” Even nods and he knows that Sonja’s probably going to be mad about this, but he can’t say no to Isak “When do you have time?”

“Uhm Thursday after my shift at KB would be awesome.” Isak smiles thankfully.

“Okay Thursday after your shift it is then.” Even nods approvingly.

“Thanks, Ev.” Isak exhales relieved “It would’ve been hell of a chaos if I had to postpone everything.”

“No worries.” Even gives him a soft smile.

“Isy?” a sharp voice shouts from down the field and they both turn their heads to follow the source of the noise.

Isak rolls his eyes “Sorry, I gotta go back, duty's calling. Oh, I almost forgot, my shift ends at 5 so I think I can be here around 5:30, maybe even earlier.”

Even chuckles “Sounds good. See you on Thursday, Is.”

“Bye, Even.” Isak says before he runs back down on the field. He stills at the end of the stands, he turns back around and waves, now a blinding smile on his face. Even's heart eventually melts right here and now and he can feel a blush heating up his cheeks. He doesn't really care, though, because he's sure that Isak can't see it from down there. He raises his hand and waves back, mirroring Isak's wide smile and this time Even doesn't feel awkward or foolish doing that.

Isak jogs back to his team mates, he expects the other boys to tease him or make fun of him, but they only grin at him and the boy with the wild, brown curls, wraps an arm around Isak and gently pats his shoulder.

Even smiles to himself and opens the book on his lap again, but he doesn’t get much further with the chapter, since his eyes wander to search for Isak on the field more often than not.

It still fascinates Even that Isak seems like a different person when he's engaged in a game or even here while only practicing. There's his concentrated, fierce expression again, radiating totally different vibes than he did just minutes ago. He seems to take his part in the team rather serious.

It's almost like there are two different Isak's: Everyday Isak – nice and soft, so soft – and Football Isak – fierce and focused, with that hard expression written on his face.

Isak yells at his teammates and they yell back, but none of them seems to have a problem with that quiet harsh tone that's dominating on the field. None of the boys blinks an eye when another screams or says something not that nice, it seems to be their thing. But Even doesn't miss that there are also smiles, laughter and words of praise between the boys.

Isak's hard expression fades and his face breaks out into a big smile as Christoffer shouts something from the other side of the field – Even doesn't understand his words, but according to Isak's reaction it were either words of praise or something funny.

Isak starts to jog towards the other boy, shouting something back, followed by a lusty laugh. Oh how much Even loves that sound.

The boys meet in the middle of the field and Christoffer wraps an arm around Isak's waist, pulling him closer to his side and ruffling his fingers through Isak's curls. Isak doesn't pull away from Christoffer's touch and huffs out another ringing laugh. A deep frown appears on Even's forehead, he wonders how close Isak and Christoffer are outside the team.

.

"It's kinda spooky, isn't it? Like in a horror movie or something." Sonja laughs beside him, nudging her shoulder with his.

"I actually like that foggy atmosphere." Even smiles back at her, Sonja only snorts and rolls her eyes.

It's a dull day, the weather got cold and rainy again and the fog's giving the streets of Oslo a strange, but also mystic flair. Even can't believe that he sat in the last row of the grand stand only two days ago – the sun shining brightly on his face, that day suddenly seems so far away.

It's already dark outside and the lights of the lamp posts are lightly blurry because of the dense fog.

"How could I forget that you're such an autumn enthusiast?" there's an amused smile dancing on her lips.

"Autumn - the year's last and loveliest smile." Even quotes with the attempt of a wink.

"Spring - the year's first and most charming smile." Sonja retorts, raising one of her brows, but the smile on her lips gets brighter as if she's remembering the countless discussions they already had about that topic.

"We're not having that discussion again. No way." Even huffs out a laugh, shaking his head.

A quiet, ringing laugh escapes Sonja's mouth "Okay, okay. Spring's the winner anyway."

"I'm gonna change the subject now." Even huffs "The shoots went pretty well today, didn't they?"

"Yes, some boys needed a bit animation to not look that stiff, but all in all I'd say it was a success." the expression on the girl's face is rather satisfied “I didn't think that we could handle three people photographing at the same time, but surprisingly it went pretty well.” There's a few seconds of silence and Even can tell that she's hesitating to say the following words “I didn't think you'd come.”

“What? Why?” Even blurts out surprised.

“I haven't seen you much lately and the boys haven't either.” she says cautiously, shortly glancing at him.

“Oh yeah. I'm just...it's a bit awkward between me and Mutta.” Even admits quietly, but he assumes that Sonja probably already knows.

“Yeah.” is all she says, confirming Even's feeling. He can see in her eyes that she knows, everyone in the squad seems to be in the know but him. Even swallows the upcoming annoyance and exhales loudly “Please don't say that he's telling me soon, I've heard that often enough already.”

“Okay, I won't.” Sonja says, she links her arm with Even's and gives it a light squeeze, she lets pass a few silent seconds before she speaks again “Thanks for helping with the shoots, you're a true angel, Evy.” her words are soft and quiet.

“You're very welcome, Soni. It was actually fun to shoot the guys, it's been a while since I took such photos.” Even gladly takes the offered change of topic and squeezes her arm back - a quiet thank you. They might not date anymore, but Sonja's still pretty good at sensing Even's inner turmoil and recognizing when he's not ready to let it out.

“You really have an eye for the beauty in people, you know, you seem to find the good in everyone.” Sonja stops walking and looks at him, her eyes roaming his face. The sudden change in the atmosphere is a bit awkward and to be honest Even's starting to fell a little uncomfortable with Sonja looking at him like that.

She takes a breath, seemingly wanting to tell him something, but she decides in the last second not to. She forces a smile on her lips insted, her shoulders sinking down a little “There's just Isak left, though. You sure you can handle this on your own?”

Even nods slowly, a little bemused by her question, but he goes with it, because he's not quite sure if really wants to know what she was about to tell him before “I think I can handle Isak, yes.”

“Good.” Sonja smiles at him and there's something in her eyes that Even can't really decipher, the glance in them seems sad in some way “Let's go home.” She buries her face in her scarf, wraps her coat closer around her body and starts walking again.

“Okay, you want to grab a coffee on the way? My treat.” Even asks, because he's that kind of human, he can't see one of his friends being afflicted, even when he's struggling with something himself. He can sense that something's weighing on Sonja's chest, he can see it in her eyes, he can hear it in her voice. Maybe she wants to talk about it over a hot coffee, some things are easier to talk about with a hot mug of coffee to hold on to.

There's an attempt of a smile on her lips “That's sweet of you, Evy, but actually I'm already late for meeting someone.”

“Oh, okay.” Even wets his lips with his tongue, he looks at her, waiting if she'll tell him who she's going to meet, but Sonja stays quiet. Even sighs internally, all these little secrets – his own and the ones of his friends – he really hopes that all this won't slowly drag him down.

They fall back in slow steps, arms linked again, both immersed in their own thoughts, Even searches his brain for a light topic to talk about, but his mind's blank and perhaps it's better to walk in that more or less comfortable silence than to have a forced conversation about something stupid.

As they're close to Sonja's apartment the girl starts to chuckle silently “You remember when I told you about the guy that had been staring at you at William's party? I mentioned it before I throw up in the bushes. Remember?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Even answers, he hasn't thought about that lately, but it had been somewhere in the back of his mind, but now that Sonja's mentioned it again, he finally wants to know who had been staring at him back then.

“He did it again today.” Sonja turns her head and looks up at him to see his reaction.

“Will you finally tell me who it is?” Even says, followed by an amused laugh.

“Take a guess.” she cocks a brow.

“Guess? Come on, Soni, you know I suck at guessing. Can't you just tell me?” Even pleads, looking down at her with pursed lips.

“So you really wanna know who your secret admirer is, huh?” Sonja keeps teasing and Even rolls his eyes, not answering her “Okay, okay, fine, I'm gonna tell you. It's Magnus.”

“Magnus?” Even blurts out, louder than he planned to do “Are you serious? You know that he has a girlfriend, right?”

“Not so sure about that, I think they broke up a few weeks ago.” Sonja waggles her brows “Seems like you've got something that attracts football guys very very much, though.”

“Oh, stop it.” Even gently shoves her, making her laugh even more.

.

Even didn’t reckon he would be this nervous about this whole thing here, he thought he would only be super excited, but as he adjusted the settings of the camera, the flash and the set for what it felt like the hundredth time, he realized that he isn’t only excited, but also nervous as fuck. It’s only minutes until the younger boy will walk in here, so Even needs to calm down his nerves. He starts walking around the room, trying to walk out the nervousness of his sytem, trying to distract himself from freaking out even more.

He startles a little and swings around as he hears the door flying open behind him “Hei, Ev.” Isak greets him cheerfully, but the boy's voice dies down midst sentence and he breaths a little quieter “Holy shit, this looks impressive.”

“Hei.” Even manages to press out, Isak flashes a smile and it's one of these that make Even weak in the knees, it's smug but still sweet, so so sweet “Did you expect something else?”

“Honestly? Yes.” Isak slowly nods, chewing on his inner cheek. He lets his backpack slip from his shoulders and shrugs off his light pink jacket. He drops both on a chair in the corner before he starts walking up to Even.

“I brought you some white tea with jasmine and peach, I hope you like it.” Isak smile's gently and places the tray with two cups on the table beside the laptop.

He looks a little tired, which must be due to his shift at KB, but he still looks good, more than good actually. He's wearing a dark red snap back, an over-sized gray hoodie and tight black jeans. He looks a few years younger when he's dressed like that.

“Thanks, Is.” Even mirrors his smile. His eyes follow Isak as the boy makes his way to the equipment. He lets his fingers glide over it and says quietly “I expected something not that professional, though. You guys really seem to take this serious.”

“Well, I don't, but my friends – Sonja and Mikael – from the newsletter do, yeah.” Even answers, scratching the back of his head.

“So you're not part of the newsletter team?” Isak’s eyes find Even’s again, he darts his tongue out to wet his lips.

“Not really, I just help them out from time to time.”

“Hmm.” Isak hums absentmindedly. Even's eyes keep following him, taking in every little move of him, he stays quiet, he doesn’t want to interrupt Isak's journey of discovery.

Isak sits down on the little golden stool that looks roughly like a box, there's a hint of a frown on his forehead as he looks up at Even and asks “Do I even wear the right clothes for all this here?”

Even can't help but chuckle “Your clothes are fine, Is.”

“You’d say if I look terrible, right? You would tell me.” Isak looks as nervous as Even felt before he walked in the room. All the usual confidence seems to have vanished as soon as the boy sat down on that stupid box-looking stool.

“There’s nothing I couldn't edit later on.” Even teases and Isak's eyes widen for a second, he opens his mouth, but closes it again without saying anything, so Even adds “I was joking, Isak, you look good. Chill.”

Isak takes a deep breath “Sorry, I just, that's not exactly something I enjoy doing very much. I'm pretty shit at this. I hate staged photos with these fake smiles. I tend to look like an idiot on them, just so you know. A little warning.”

“I don't think it's possible for you to look like an idiot, Isak.” Even says without really thinking. He walks up to the camera and peeks through the lens, acting as if he's adjusting the settings just to hide the blush that slowly creeps up his neck “Just try to act natural and don’t focus too much on the camera.”

“Wow. Even Bech Næsheim, the master of giving instructions.” Isak huffs out a sarcastic laugh and that's when Even takes the first picture.

“Hei, that’s not fair I wasn’t prepared.” Isak complains, pouting like a little child.

Even can't help himself and takes the second shot “You said you didn’t like staged photos, so were going all natural here.”

“Right, but these have to look at least a little professional, don’t they?” Isak raises one of his brows, an eye-roll follows right after as he hears the clicking sound of the camera and a blinding flash light illuminates half of the room “You really enjoy mocking me, huh?”

“A little.” Even winks as he lifts his face from the camera “But now for real, these pictures should capture who you are, Is. Fuck it if they look 'professional' or not.”

“Okay, fine.” Isak nods and takes a deep breath, Even can see that he's really trying to relax and he does, just a little, but it's a beginning.

Even tilts his head, studying Isak's face, the other boy seems to get nervous again, but Even smiles at him as he takes the few steps towards him. He doesn't know where this sudden boost of confidence is coming from but he doesn't question it in this right moment, he decides to just go with it as long as it's staying.

Isak's expression is slightly confused and Even can already hear him asking what he's doing, but before he actually has the chance to speak these words, Even breaths “Let's take a few without the snap back.”

“You sure? My hair's a mess under this thing.” Isak removes the hat from his head, his eyes asking Even if the mop of curls on his head looks as messy as he thinks it looks.

Even's expression gets even softer and he smiles, the curls look a little wild, but it's nothing he can't fix with a few little hand grips.

“There’s just, let me.” Even takes a step closer, still smiling at they younger boy as he asks “Can I?” Looking at the mop of curls on Isak’s head.

“Yeah, sure.” Isak nods, nervously fumbling at the sleeves of his hoodie.

Even's praying to all the Gods he can think of that Isak doesn't hear how loud his heart's thumping in his chest or notices how shaky his hands are as they cautiously glide through his soft, blond curls. They feel as soft and amazing between his fingers as he imagined them to feel, it takes everything in Even to not let his hand glide down to Isak's cheek as he brushes one wild strand out of his face.

He can feel the boy's eyes lingering on him the whole time, his stare is fairly intense and it feels like it's burning on Even's skin like fire, but in a good kind of way.

As Even takes a step back, he can hear that Isak's swallowing hard and he wonders if Isak's feeling that tension too, he must feel that too, it's impossible to not feel that. He takes another step back, eyeing Isak up, the other boy's still staring at him, but Even's smile and voice seem to snap him out of his thoughts, because he starts to slowly blink a few times when Even breaths “Perfect.”

Even doesn't miss that Isak's cheeks are slightly changing their color, his face breaks out into a smile nevertheless and he asks “Yes?”

“Absolutely.” Even nods encouraging before he walks back behind the camera, he looks up from it for another time to give Isak an encouraging smile.

Isak's a tiny bit more relaxed, but it's still visible in the pictures that he's not that comfortable doing this and he still appears a little stiff. Even stops taking pictures, trying to think of something to loosen up the younger a bit, Isak breaks his train of thoughts as he sighs “It's that bad, isn't it?”

Even lightly shakes his head and huffs out a small laugh “No, we just need to get you comfortable with the camera, Is.”

“Stop laughing.” Isak pouts, shrugging his arms in front of his chest, Even can't resist and takes shot of that adorable sight “Okay that's it, we've got it, that's the picture we're gonna use.” Even huffs out another chuckle.

Isak shoots a frustrated glance at Even and stands up from the little stool, he walks up to him and exhales loudly as he sees the taken pictures on the laptop screen “Can it get any worse? Oh my God, look at that one, that's horrible, please delete this right now. And what about that? My smile looks like frozen here. Jesus fucking Christ. This is a fucking disaster.” Isak runs his fingers through his hair, his frustration growing as he looks through the shots Even has taken of him so far.

“Don't be so harsh on yourself, it's not that bad. We just got to relax you a bit more, unstiffen you.”

“Unstiffen me? Like, how? I mean, look at these pics, every single one of them is awful.” Isak groans “Can't I just give you an old picture and we end this here?”

“Sorry, Is, but Sonja and Mik would kill me if I'd do this.” Even apologizes, lightly shaking his head.

“Faen.” Isak exhales loudly, running a hand over his face.

Even bites down his bottom lip, Sonja told him yesterday that some of the boys needed a little music to get in the mood for the shoot, so he decides to try this out on Isak as well, he's got nothing to lose, though and he really needs to get the other boy more relaxed.

“I got an idea, Is.” Even wags his eyebrows, ignoring the defeated glance in Isak's eyes, the other boy seems to be convinced that nothing will help, but Even's not leaving this room before Isak's smiling again and he got some good photos of him, even if they'd be in here for five days “Let's put on some music, maybe this will help you loosen up a bit.”

“Okay, let's try. It can't get any worse, right?” Isak agrees much to Even's surprise, he thought there would be more persuading needed.

Even connects his phone with the wireless speakers that Sonja left here yesterday – “Just in case.” she said, Even takes an inner note to thank her later. He puts on the first song on his cheesy and rather ridiculous playlist named “dance :)”.

The first beats of the song start to blast out the speakers and Even turns around to meet eyes with a not so impressed looking Isak, the boy's brows are knitted as he scoffs “Faen Even, Gabrielle? Are you fucking serious? Of all songs you pick that one?”

“What's wrong with that song, it's good to dance to, isn't it?” Even beams at him, he starts to dance his way to Isak – Even's dance moves aren't the best, to be honest they look ridiculous and even a bit embarrassing, but he's trying his best, okay.

Isak rolls his eyes, but his lips escapes a lusty laugh “Oh God and I thought I sucked at this shoot. No offense, but your dance moves are even worse.”

Even starts to sing along, gesticulating theatrically with his hands and continuing with his ludicrous dance moves. He's trying to get Isak to join him, but the other boy shakes his head and laughs “I’m not dancing to this shit Even. No way.” Isak buries his face in his hands, as if looking at Even is giving him some major secondhand embarrassment.

“Just feel the beat and go with it.” Even can't be irritated by Isak's embarrassment, he dances even closer and Isak looks through between his fingers, laughing “Oh my God, stop it, please.”

Even lets out a loud laugh, grabs Isak’s hands and spins him around, one time, two times, three times. He waits for the other boy to complain even more, but he’s chuckling, he's really chuckling. Even turns him around another time, again and again, he doesn't want this sweet, sweet sound to ever stop.

“Ha, I knew you're actually liking the song, you're just too cool to admit it.” Even chuckles “I bet you know the whole song by heart.”

“My name's not Even Bech Næsheim.” Isak ripostes, grinning brightly at Even.

Even stops dancing now, he tilts his head a little and raises both his brows, daring “Now it's your turn, Isak, show me a song you listen to when you want to dance or loosen up.”

Isak walks up to Even's phone, Even can see that he's shaking his head and probably even rolling his eyes about the name of his playlist, he turns around and asks “Dance, smiley? Really.”

“Something wrong with that name?” Even shrugs, looking expectantly at the boy at his phone.

“No, nothing.” Isak smiles to himself and turns back around, searching for a song on Even's playlist. Even watches him scrolling through the songs, the frown on his forehead appearing and disappearing a few times. Then a smile's tugging at the corner of his lips, it seems like he's found what he was looking for. Isak glances over his shoulder, a played serious expression on his face “You gotta promise me that you're not telling anyone about this, okay?”

“Now I'm curious. Come on, put it on.” Even's really curios what kind of music Isak's listening to.

“First I gotta tell that I'm usually listening to 90s rap and stuff like that. But when you live with Eva you get to hear this kind of music all the time and with all the time I mean 24/7, and you kind of start to develop a liking for it.” Isak lightly shakes his head and scoffs “I don't know why I'm even telling you this, I mean you put on Gabrielle, it can't get any worse.”

Isak taps on the screen and the song starts to play, Even recognizes it immediately, he doesn't know what kind of song he expected, but definitely not a song from Sigrid. Isak turns on his heels and slowly dance-walks towards him, mimicking Even's earlier dance moves. The boy sings along to the song with the most adorable English accent Even has ever heard in his life.

“I don't care 'bout perfect timing, this is it  
I think we're a hit  
I know that my schedule is fucked up  
But, baby, you know you're the same  
And that's why  
I think we're a hit”

Isak’s cheeks are slightly flushed, he's slightly embarrassed about what he's doing here, but he's still comfortable enough around Even to show him that side of him. And Even doesn't know what's more heartwarming the blush on Isak's cheeks and the singing or that Isak's that comfortable with him.

As Isak reaches Even, he grabs his hands and spins him around, the room's filled with the music and their laughter. Even loses count on how often Isak has already turned them around, he just feels his head getting dizzier while looking into Isak’s green, shiny eyes.

They eventually lose balance and land on with their butts on the ground, laughing even more, Even actually has to hold his stomach. He can't remember the last time he had that much of childish fun. It feels so good, so so god to just be silly and laugh, after these past days of being frustrated with himself and his friends.

The boys lay back on their backs, faces turned to look at each other, Isak's face is still a little blurred, his brains still trying to get rid of the dizziness.

"Faen, my head's still spinning like mad.” Isak chuckles beside him.

When the spinning in his head slowly dies down, Even takes in Isak’s face, he takes in the little wrinkles beside his eyes when he smiles, the cute dimples in his cheeks, the tiny gaps between his teeth, his cute little button nose, the mole above his upper lip and then that wonderfully formed pair of lips that is so hard to capture rightfully when he tries to draw it. Even’s focus lingers on Isak's lips for a while and he's so damn close to just lean in and connect their lips.

Isak’s turning his whole body to the side now, the movement rips Even out of his thoughts and he looks back up in the boy's eyes. There’s silence between the two boys for a few breaths. Isak bites down his bottom lip and there’s something flickering in his eyes, but it’s gone within a second and before Even can decipher it.

Isak awkwardly clears his throat and leans back up, bringing some distance between their faces again and he asks “Should we continue with the shoot?” The boy gets back on his feet, reaches out his hands to help Even getting up from the ground.

“Yeah, let’s continue.” Even’s trying his best to keep a straight face while he walks back to the camera. What was that little flicker in Isak’s eyes? Was he thinking about a kiss too? Even pushes these thoughts in the back of his mind, he needs to concentrate on this now, he needs to capture a few good photos of Isak, it's not the time to think about possible missed chances to kiss the other boy.

Isak sits down on the box-looking stool again, definitely more relaxed than he was before their little dance session and Even smiles to himself. The pictures Even's taking of him now are so much more relaxed and natural. Isak does quite some entertaining poses to make him laugh, but there are also pictures in which Isak’s looking at the camera with such an intense stare that Even’s knees are close to give in.

.

Even’s sipping on his now already cold, but really delicious tea, looking through the taken pictures while Isak’s changing into his football dress, of course they also need pictures of Isak all dressed up. The football dress seems to boost Isak’s confidence even more or maybe it’s because he’s already used to be in front of the camera by now.

Even’s surprised but it seems like every single shot with the football dress is on point and Isak looks so fucking handsome. He really has to pull himself together to not just simply stare at the other boy without even taking any photos.

With Isak being that confident in front of the camera it doesn’t take long to finish the photo shoot. Although Even would love to have Isak around a little while longer, he doesn’t prolong it, because he knows that Isak must be exhausted. When he announces that the shoot's over, Isak looks rather surprised, it seems like he’s started to acquire a liking for being photographed by Even.

As Isak's changed back to his normal clothes, they look through the photos Even has taken of the younger boy. Isak’s silent, he’s looking at his photos with a light frown on his forehead. Even’s getting a little nervous, what if Isak doesn’t like a single one of his pictures, what if he hasn’t done a good enough job this time.

“You really have an eye for that.” Isak breaks the silence, taking this eyes from the screen to look into Even’s “I guess I’ve never looked that good on pictures ever before.”

“So you like them?” Even blinks a few times, studying his face.

“Yeah, actually I like them very much.” Isak flashes a smile.

“Oh thank fuck, I already thought you hated them.” Even exhales loudly and leans back in the chair.

“Why would you think that? I could never hate something you made.” Isak speaks these words softly, nudging his shoulder with Even’s.

“You were looking at the pics with that frown on your forehead and I thought ‘Shit, he hates them.’” Even explains, chuckling awkwardly.

The frown comes back to Isak’s forehead and without thinking and any hesitation Even’s thumb reaches up to Isak’s face, smoothing the wrinkle between the boy's brows “See there it is again. You should stop frowning so much, Isak, or else you will have some deep ass wrinkles on before you turn thirty.” Even needs to ruin the softness of his touch with this joke, he needs to or else he’ll kiss Isak right here and now.

Isak rolls his eyes, fondly this time “Thanks for the advice, Ev.”  
.

The boys decided to get comfortable on the floor for the interview, they went to the vending machines to grab soda and some disgusting looking, but actually not that bad tasting sandwiches. And somehow Even wishes they could sit here and talk about whatever they want, but they're here to do that interview – okay you can’t really call that an interview, it’s just asking Isak the questions Mikael gave him the other day.

They're sitting cross legged in front of each other, chewing on their sandwiches, Even unfolds the yellowish paper from Mikael with one hand and places it on one of his knees, the questions standing there written in Mikael's awful handwriting ready to be asked, definitely more ready than Even himself.

It’s weird to ask Isak questions like that in form of an interview, he’d rather get to know these things while talking normally to the other boy, maybe on a walk back home, or during a coffee at KB, or maybe on a date in a restaurant. However, it is what it is now and Even can only make the best out of it.

He takes another bite from his sandwich while he reads through the questions and he immediately regrets that he did not do that earlier. He thought they would be intelligent and well thought through, but it seems that Even has been wrong, totally wrong.

He swallows the bite in his mouth and takes a deep breath before he asks, “Are you okay with me only taking notes of your answers? Or do you rather want me to record that whole thing?”

“Taking notes is okay. I'm sure you won't put words in my mouth.” Isak grins before he takes the last bite of his sandwich and leans back on his hands.

Even bends over to his backpack to grab out his notebook, he can feel the other boy's eyes on him again, he can feel that Isak's eyes are wandering up and down on him. The other boy even blushes a little when Even looks back at him and their eyes meet. Even likes that he has that effect on Isak – but just a little.

Even smiles and nods "Okay, first of all, I want to clarify that these questions are not coming from me. It's what the newsletter team and according to them the people out there want to know." he says these words with a played serious voice.

Isak chuckles "Jesus, now I'm curious." he tilts his head a little and raises one of his brows "Or should I rather be scared?"

Even huffs out a laugh "It's not that bad, but some questions are weird and if you don't feel comfortable just tell me, we can skip them."

"Alright, will do." Isak nods his head "Let's do this."

"Well, let's start with a light one. When's your birthday, Is?" Even asks, placing his notebook on his lap so he can write down Isak's answers.

"I was born on 21st June 1999." Isak answers with a smile.

"Oh, on summer solstice, that's cool, though." Even smiles back “So, uhm you're a 99'? I thought you were a 00' since it's your first semester."

“I took a year off before coming here, that’s why I’m a whole year behind Jonas, Eva and the rest of my friends.” Isak looks down on his hands and starts to fumble at the sleeves of his hoodie.

“May I ask what you did during your gap year?” Even regrets asking as he looks up from his notebook and notices that Isak is not quite comfortable with that question.

“Uhm, there were things to take care of at home and my help was needed. I wouldn't have been able to go to University in addition to all of this.” Isak answers vaguely, making Even a tiny bit curious, but he doesn’t ask any further. There will be some other time for Even to find out about the whole story.

“You want me to put in that this year off was to find yourself, to find your path in life or do you want me to leave that without any comment?” Even asks, studying Isak's face.

Isak snorts and lightly shakes his head “’ _Finding myself’_ that sounds so corny, don’t you think? But well I mean I guess it’s what this year has been, kind of.”

Even chuckles “It’s what everyone does in their gap year, isn’t it? I mean it is what it is for, right? Finding yourself.”

“True.” Isak agrees with a small nod, Even bends his head down to write down what he just heard from Isak. He feels the urge to laugh, because that situation here is just too ridiculous.

“What is your relationship status?” Even reads the next question aloud followed by a little groan “Jesus, that question right after the one about your date of birth.”

Isak looks rather amused as he shrugs his shoulders, “It’s what people want to know, right? It’s okay, though, don’t worry about the questions Ev, the other boys answered them and so will I.”

“Okay, I’m still sorry, though.” Even murmurs, but Isak dismisses his apology with a wave of his hand and a gorgeous smile.

“So my relationship status, right?” Isak asks and starts to chew on his inner cheek and Even nods “Your relationship status, yes.”

Isak's looking around the room before he eventually answers “It’s kinda hard to put that, uhm it’s complicated I’d say.” he lightly stumbles over his words, looking everywhere but in Even’s eyes.

Even awkwardly clears his throat “Uhm, well we can put in that you're in a relationship, it's not Facebook that you have to add _it's complicated,_ though.” he fakes a lighthearted chuckle, although something in him deflates. There's someone in Isak's life, even if it's complicated, Isak has someone he goes home to, someone he share's a life with and Even wonders if that someone is Eva - the gorgeous girl with the auburn hair.

“Okay. So then _in a relationship_ it is.” Isak nods, his expression looks everything else but happy, Even averts his eyes so Isak can't see the disappointment in them. He looks down on his notebook again, scribbling down that information about Isak. It stings more than he awaited it to, he takes a breath before he looks back up, faking a smile.

“Next one, though, uhm what's your field of study?” Even's glad for that change to something lighter and not that deeply intimate.

“I study social work.” Isak answers and the smile on his lips is rather shy.

“Really?” Even says surprised “That's pretty impressive.”

“Yeah, I just want to help people, you know. I've been through some shit myself and I think I could help people with similar issues.” Isak looks adorably shy when he tells Even about this and Even can't help but admire the younger boy even more.

And it's the first time in weeks that Aleksander comes to his mind and Even's glad that Isak is nothing like him, not in the slightest. Isak's a kind soul, who wants to help other people with their issues, Aleksander wouldn't even have thought about helping others.

“You seem pretty surprised, what did you think I was studying?” Isak interrupts Even's wandering thoughts.

“I don't know, engineering or business studies.” Even guesses, looking rather helpless.

“Business studies? Jeez.” Isak shakes his head in disbelieve, Even huffs out a laugh and shrugs his shoulders “Actually my first choice was to study biophysics in Trondheim, but life got in the way, though.”

Isak doesn't seem sad or bitter when he speaks these words, he actually has a small, fond smile on his lips and Even feels a little sting in his heart. So Isak stayed here in Oslo for the person with whom it's complicated and gave up his dream of studying in Trondheim. Even just hopes that this person knows how lucky they are to have someone like Isak.

“I hope you're still happy, Isak.” Even doesn't know why he's saying that and Isak looks at him a little baffled, his voice sounds as confused as he looks “I am happy, pretty happy actually.”

“Good.” Even smiles at him and goes on to the next question to move on from the weird words he just said seconds ago “Okay what else do we have here. Oh, what's your favorite quote, Isak?”

“Oh that's an easy one, though, my favorite quote is _Life is now._ ” Isak's answer rolls quickly from his lips.

“You've got that quote tattooed, right?” Even looks back up from his notebook.

“Good observation Mr. Bech Næsheim.” Isak chuckles “Yeah I've got that quote tattooed on my arm.”

“May I ask what's so special about these words?”

Isak licks his lips, it's silent for a few seconds, it seems like he's thinking precisely about the words he's going to say “You know I guess every one of us, or better said most of us, did something in their teenage years that they're not really proud of.

These words remind me to not waste too much of my time with thinking about the past, because I can't change what happened anyway. These words are here to remind me to focus on now, to live my life now.

I made some bad decisions, made some wrong choices back then, but in the end they made me who I am today and they brought me where I am today.”

Even lets the boy's words sink in, before he stuns “Wow.” he swallows, looks into Isak's green eyes, wondering what mistakes and bad choices this wonderful, honest boy made in his past life “That's a great quote to live by, Is.”

“I try my best.” Isak smiles at him, looking right back into Even's blue eyes.

Even laughs as he reads the next question on the paper “What's your favorite hobby? Oh God, isn't that obvious?”

“Hmm maybe they want to know what we football guys do beside football.” Isak chuckles adorably.

“Oh yeah, so what do you do besides playing football?” Even looks down on his paper to note Isak's answer.

“Uhm well, I work at KB, as you know, I study a lot and uhm the rest of my time I spend like everyone else does, I guess. I hang out with my friends, go to parties and watch Netflix, things like that.” Isak shrugs his shoulders “Nothing special.”

As Even looks up from the notebook Isak quickly looks away and that tells Even that Isak's not telling the whole truth, but Even doesn't probe. It's okay if Isak doesn't want to tell him everything, even if Even's dying to know everything about the boy in front of him.

“Great. And oh we're already at the last one, though.” Even smiles at Isak, whose brows shoot up “Already?”

“Yeah. There isn't more on the list, Mik, gave me.” Even lifts the yellowish paper so Isak can see the words written on it.

“I'm not complaining, though, I just awaited more embarrassing questions to be honest.”

“You can have that if you apply for some of the later issues of the newsletter. I mean just in case you want people to know more about you, Is.” Even waggles his eyebrows, smirking at the younger boy.

“Sounds like something I'd totally not do.” Isak huffs out a laugh “Come on, shoot that last question.”

“Why are you so passionate about football, since when do you play it and how did you make it into the team?”

“These are actually three questions, though.” Isak whispers, a grin on his lips and Even shoots him a look “Okay, sorry. Well, uhm, I started playing football when I was little, four or five, can't really remember. When I met Jonas in Elementary school we played almost every day after school and well we're still doing this. We never attended a football team or something because we didn't want to handle that kind of responsibility.” Isak snorts, smiling to himself.

“Magnus actually asked Jonas to go to the tryout of the University's team and they wanted them to join, Jonas didn't want to first, but I encouraged him. When I started this year the team asked me if I wanted to join as well, William and Chris knew about my skills as well.”

“How did they know about your skills, did Jonas brag a little?” Even teases.

Isak rolls his eyes “Not only that. We actually went to the same school, though, and we played a few times together.”

Isak seems to notice that weird look on Even's face, because he adds “They're not that bad if you know them a little better.”

“You might be right.” Even sighs, quickly scribbling down Isak's words, wondering again how close Isak's actually with the two boys.

.

Isak's looking at his phone, typing something while Even's switches off the lights in the room and locks the door. As Even lets the key slide into his backpack, he clears his throat and asks “You ready to leave?”

“Mmmh.” Isak looks up from his phone, gives him a light nod and puts his phone back in the pocket of his jeans “Let's get out of here.”

The halls are died out, there's no one else around here. It's quiet, there's only the electric purring of the many vending machines offering things for all kind of cravings.

They make their way out the building through the back entrance, because Isak left his bike out there at the bike racks. Isak's walking pretty close beside Even, they're even that close that their fingers brush against each other every few steps. Every little hint of a touch fills Even's chest with warmth, something in him wants to take Isak's hand and intertwine their fingers. But he holds back, because Isak has someone waiting for him at home – even if it's complicated according to the other boy.

It's a little awkward when they come to a hold at Isak's bike, Even wants to say something, he wants to ask Isak what he meant with his relationship being complicated, there's so much he wants to ask, but he stays silent, too afraid of the answers. He watches Isak unchaining his bike, swinging one foot over its frame and sitting down on the saddle.

Even opens his mouth, ready to say goodbye, but Isak breaks the silence first "Should I give you a ride?"

"You think that thing can carry both of us?" Even almost barks out a laugh as he takes a closer look at Isak's old and kind of shabby looking bike. Isak can't be serious, that bike will never be able to bring them home in one piece.

"Oi, of course that 'thing' can do that." Isak gives him a smug half smile "It may look a little battered, but it can definitely carry two people."

Even can see in Isak's eyes that he's speaking from experience, he already had someone sitting on this carrier before and Even bets it has been more than only once.

"Hmm." Even hums, looking up and down the bike again, making Isak roll his eyes and sigh "Don't be such a diva, hop on."

"I'm not a diva." Even acts shocked, dramatically putting a hand on his heart.

Isak raises his brows, he's so close to roll his eyes another time "But you're totally acting like one. Last chance, take it or leave it."

Even sits down on the carrier and takes a deep breath, thankfully the streets aren't damp from rain and the high humidity in general and thankfully most of the fallen leaves has been removed, so the possibility of them to slip is a little lower, but Even's still skeptical if this here is a good idea.

The start is a bit unsteady, but Isak manages to steady their balance rather quickly, that confirms Even's assumption that he's not the first one to sit on that carrier. He's not the first one Isak gives a ride and Even asks himself how many people already sat on that carrier and were brave enough to hold on Isak's upper body.

Even looks away from Isak's back, his eyes wander around the streets they're driving along, the streets are rather busy for that time of the day. Irritated people driving home from work or walking along the sidewalks, stopping every now and then to peek through the windows of the stores.

A young man's carrying a little girl on his shoulders, the little girl points her finger at Isak and Even as they drive by. Even can't hear what she's saying and he can't see the reaction of the young man, because they turn around the corner.

Even's fingers are wrapped around the metal of the carrier, it's cold and it's a little uncomfortable to sit like that. He wonders if Isak would mind if he'll hold on to him, if he'll wrap his arms around the other boy from behind, like a hug. A soft hug from behind.

They come to hold at a red light, Isak turns around and huffs out a laugh "Hello? Ev?"

The boy's voice yanks Even out of his thoughts "Yes?" he blinks a few times, before he looks up in Isak's eyes.

"I asked where you live.” Isak's smile's soft.

.

Sometime during their drive to Even's apartment complex Even's hands found their way up to Isak's side, he wasn't thinking much about it, it just happened automatically, naturally. Even only realized what he was doing when he felt Isak's body lightly tensing under his hands, but the tension disappeared fairly quickly and Isak relaxed under his touch.

Even knows, he knows he shouldn't feel what he was feeling when Isak started relaxing into his touch, he shouldn't feel like that when Isak has someone at home waiting for him. He shouldn't, but he does, he feels so much, so fucking much, although he's only spend so little time with Isak, but his heart bursts in his chest when he only thinks about the boy's smile and his laugh.

The bike comes to hold in front of his complex and it's the first time in two years that Even hates the fact that he's living pretty close to the University. Although his hands and his face are slightly freezing, he doesn't want this bike ride to end already. He'd love to drive with Isak around the city the whole night, but that's just a silly wish he's having, a silly, little wish that will never be fulfilled.

Even gets off the carrier and steps up beside Isak “Thanks for the ride, Is.”

“Anytime, Ev.” Isak smiles at him, his cheeks wonderful rosy from the cold airstream, Even wants to draw soft, small little circles on these cheeks with his thumb “Thanks for the shoot and interview, I don't think it would've been that chill with anyone else.”

Even hates how his heart flutters in his chest, he hates that he's in love with a boy, who's taken "It was a pleasure taking pictures of you, Is." Even manages to stumble out.

The rosy shine on Isak's face gets a nuance darker and for a short second he looks flustered, but then he slides his backpack from this back, saying "I almost forgot to give you something." he opens the zipper of his backpack and grabs out a pen.

Without hesitation the younger boy grabs Even's wrist, pulling his hand towards him and he starts scribbling something on Even's skin. The languorous feeling of the pen gliding along the back of his hand and the warmth of Isak's hand gently wrapped around his wrist make Even forget how to breathe properly.

Isak's hand stays wrapped around Even's wrist even when he's done, Even looks down at the other boy's scrawly handwriting, he looks up in Isak's eyes and asks dumbly "What's that?"

Isak huffs out a chuckle, his hand's giving Even's wrist a gentle squeeze before he lets go "It's my number, so you can send me the final photos. I need to be prepared before I see them in the newsletter." Isak nervously scratches the back of his neck.

"Oh, yeah of course the photos." Even stutters and a smile makes its way to his lips.

Isak sits back on the saddle, his smile getting a bit wider "The photos, yes." he winks before he drives off and before he disappears around the corner he shouts “Good night, Ev.”

Even's too stunned, too confused to shout something back, he just waves although Isak's already around the corner.

He looks down on his hand again and he huffs out a quiet chuckle as he sees the words above the number: _Thanks for the dance :)_

.

The butterflies in Even's stomach die as soon as he swings the door to the apartment open, his stomach drops to the ground as he hears muffled voices coming from the living room. He closes his eyes and sighs deeply, not again, please not again. It’s time to ask what the hell's going on here, he’s so tired of waiting for his friends to come to him, he wants to know what the fuck is up. _Now_.

He slips out of his jacket, toes off his shoes and walks with quick, determined steps along the hall up to the living room, he doesn’t bother to listen first who’s in there, he just barges in.

“Evy.” Emilie startles, looking at him with wide, surprised eyes, her glance wanders back to Mutta beside her, before she looks to her brother a little more composed now, she even manages a small smile.

“Hey, man.” Mutta tries to sound not as startled as his face looks, but he fails miserably, his voice's trembling a bit, as he says “Didn’t know you would be home so soon.”

Even looks between them, a frown forming on his forehead, the two on the couch look like caught in headlights. On another day, under different circumstances he would laugh at the expression on their faces, but definitely not today.

Emilie's nervously picking on the hem of her shirt and Mutta has a light frown on his forehead, the one he has when he's worrying about something.

Even shrugs his arms in front of his chest and sighs “Enough with the bullshit, guys. Please tell me, what the hell's going on here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, huh? But now I finally, finally managed to update this story :))  
> As always I hope you liked the update ♥  
> Thanks for all the kudos and the lovely comments, my heart bursts with joy whenever I read them ♥♥ :'')  
> \--  
> Baby, you've been more than patient with me .. again I'm so so sorry that this update took me forever, but now it's here and I hope you like it ♥ I love you ♥♥


	5. So, where have you been all night?

A deafening silence has settled in the living room, the only noise is the constant ticking of the clock on the wall. Even has never noticed before how loud this thing's actually ticking, in this right moment it feels like it's mocking the three of them. It’s like it’s trying to make the silence even more uncomfortable and awkward.

Even eventually manages to move his muscles, he walks to the chair beside the couch and sits down, the eyes of the other two nervously following every bit of his moves. The tension in the room is so thick, one can almost cut it with a knife. But this time Even doesn't flee, he finally wants to know what's going on.

Even’s nervously shifting in the chair, trying to make himself comfortable, looking between his sister and his friend, curious who of these two will eventually break the heavy silence.

Emilie's still awkwardly fumbling at the seam of her shirt, Mutta takes his eyes from Even and looks at the girl sitting beside him. His right foot's rocking up and down, an outlet of his nervousness. Even starts to feel a bit cruel for doing this, for confronting them like this and his skin starts to crawl. Something in him wishes he would've left the apartment earlier, like he did the last time, but he guesses it's too late for that now.

His eyes find his sister’s, blue locked with blue, Even can’t decipher the glance in them, is it fear or is it a weird kind of excitement? He can’t read it, but he can see that she’s nervous as fuck.

Mutta awkwardly clears his throat, snapping Even back out of his thoughts, the movement of Emilie’s hand catches Even’s attention and his eyes follow it. He frowns as she grabs Mutta’s hand and gently squeezes it. _What the hell?_

"It's okay, Mutta.” she gives him a small smile, her voice slightly trembling. Even feels terrible and he'd love to wrap her in a hug right now. He shouldn’t have cornered them like this, it’s not fair, he should’ve waited until Mutta was ready to tell him on his own.

“This whole mess is my fault. I gotta tell him myself." Emilie speaks her words hesitantly as if she’s not quite sure what he actually wants to say. Even’s beyond confused, he has literally no idea what’s going on here and what his sister actually has to do with it.

"Okay." Mutta slowly nods, giving her an encouraging smile while patting her hand.

The frown on Even’s forehead gets even deeper, everything seems to happen in slow motion in front of his eyes and then the realization what’s actually going on here slowly sinks in.

He swallows the forming lump in his throat and because he can’t handle the awkward tension and silence in the room anymore he blurts out "You're together, right?”

The two look at him like deer caught in headlights, Emilie opens her mouth to say something, but Even goes on, because he doesn’t know what else to do “He's the one you wanted to tell me about.” Even looks at Mutta now “Oh God, now it all makes sense. Mutta's strange behavior and why you wouldn't want to tell me right away."

Even lightly shakes his head, huffing out a small laugh, feeling so much lighter after blurting this out. His sister and one of his best friends are in love and they really thought he would have a problem with that. All the worries, all the frustration has been because of that?

The two on the couch still look at him with big, round eyes, their expressions more than confused. Mutta looks between the siblings and there’s a grin tugging at the corner of his lips, he’s trying his best to hide it.

Emilie blinks a few times before she breaths "Even, I think that's a misunderstanding. I don't have a thing with Mutta, though. I mean he's sweet and all, but not really my type." She shrugs her shoulders, an apologetic smile on her lips for the boy beside her on the couch.

Even leans back in the chair even more confused than in the beginning, he knits his brows and sighs "So you two aren’t together? But…what is going on then? I understand shit right now."

"I'm in love with one of your friends, Evy, but it's not Mutta." Emilie’s glance falls down at her hands, she starts to nervously play with her fingers. Even can’t help but think that she looks like she did as a 6 year old girl, telling him that she’d broken one of his favorite toys.

"It's none of the guys." she eventually admits, looking back up in Even’s eyes, there lingers so much despair in them. It's like a slap in his face, not the thing she just told him, but the glance in her eyes. His brain’s not able to come up with anything to say, it’s totally blank. He just stares at his little sister and he feels cruel, so fucking cruel. His mouth opens and closes a few times as his brain tries to figure out what words to speak.

His sister is in love with Sonja. Sonja is in love with his sister. Even remembers Sonja’s rather weird behavior as they walked home from University yesterday and he realizes that this was what she wanted to tell him but decided not to in the last second. Suddenly it makes sense, it all makes perfect sense. Except for one thing, what in all world has Mutta to do with all of this?

After a few painfully silent seconds Even stands up from the chair, Emilie’s looking at him with wide eyes, her facial expression changes to sheer panic. She opens her mouth but before she can say anything Even grabs her hand and pulls her up on her feet. He ignores the puzzled look on her face and wraps her in a warm, tight hug.

Emilie exhales relieved before she buries her face in Even’s chest, her body instantly relaxing in his arms, but still lightly trembling. Even’s heart pinches in his chest, this must’ve been utter stress for his little sister, caring this secret with her and being scared of his reaction.

He gently strokes his hand over her hair, like he did when they were little and she needed the comfort of her older brother. She sniffles and tilts her head to look up at him, her eyes pleading him to say something, so Even does, he speaks with a quiet and soft voice "So you and Sonja, huh?"

Emilie presses her lips together and nods slowly “Yeah.” She takes a deep, shaky breath before she adds with a small voice “I didn't mean to... it just happened. I would never do anything to hurt you. Please don't hate me."

And it breaks Even’s heart that she thinks he could ever hate her, because he wouldn’t be able to do that, never. Even catches a tear that rolls down her cheek with his thumb and gently wipes it away.

"I could never hate you, Emi. Never." Even speaks his word slow and soft, brushing a strand of blond hair out of her face "Not in this life and not in any other." And it’s the truth, his little sister means the world to him and nothing will ever change that.

From the moment he saw her in the arms of his mother when she was born, her eyes still closed, her skin all wrinkly, but yet so soft. He knew from that very moment that Emilie's the person he's going to love and protect for the rest of his life. It was like a primary instinct, completely natural.

His sister’s face softens, a little smile finds its way to her lips, but there are still tears slowly running down her cheeks. Even wipes them all away and wraps his sister in another embrace, this time even tighter and warmer than before.

"I didn't mean to hurt or betray you," she whispers, tightening her grip around him as if she's afraid her brother would run away.

He places a kiss on her hair, smiling "You did none of it, Emi. I am happy when you're happy, remember? I meant what I said and I still mean it."

And he means it, he's not only telling her this because he wants to comfort her or to avoid a conflict, he truly and deeply means it. He's happy for her, he’s happy that she finally found someone, who's able to sooth the storm in her unsettled heart.

That's how Emilie always used to call it – the storm in her unsettled heart – because she felt like no one out there understood her and her sometimes too rough personality, but still her heart was desperately craving for someone to love. She'd always thought she'd never find someone who will love her the way she was no matter how many times Even told her the opposite.

Some might think that it should be a problem because Sonja's his ex-girlfriend, some might think it must be weird as fuck and Even must be hurt or at least be a tiny bit upset. But he feels none of it, there's just genuine happiness in his heart because his sister deserves to love and be loved.

Even keeps his sister embraced until she stops trembling until the tears stop running down her cheeks until she looks up at him with a genuine smile on her lips.

It’s only now that Even realizes that Mutta left the room, giving them a little space to talk about all this. And it’s okay, Even can ask him tomorrow how he’s involved in this whole thing, this here is more important.

.

“I texted her because I wanted to know if you were free that day I was arriving for my surprise visit. I thought it might be a better idea since mom, dad and the boys can’t keep anything a secret, though. Sonja was the safest option.” Emilie chuckles, drawing her thumb along the pattern of the glass in her hands “And then we kind of kept texting and suddenly there was face-timing as well and I just couldn’t help myself.”

Emilie’s cheeks flush and she looks shy, it’s adorable, Even smiles to himself as he listens to his sister rambling about the girl, who owns her heart.

His sister looks back up and she rolls her eyes as she sees the knowing grin on his face, she sighs “Just say it. I know you want to, I can see it written all over your face, Even.”

“I don’t know what you're talking about.” Even acts clueless, taking a sip from his soda.

Emilie raises her brows and rolls her eyes again, Even lifts his hands in surrender and breaths dramatically “Okay, okay fine, if you want me to ask then here you go.”

Emilie grabs the dishtowel from the counter behind her and throws it at Even, he catches it mid-flight and barks out a laugh, before he goes on “When exactly did you find out that Sonja's a cool girl and not a controlling pain in the ass? I mean those were your words, right?”

“Can you please, not tell her that I said that? Like, ever.” Emilie huffs out a laugh, rubbing the back of her neck “Although to be honest, I may have said it because I was kind of jealous.”

“Jealous, how?” Even’s brows shoot up. This is taking interesting turns here, he always thought his little sister disliked Sonja with a passion, but it seems like it’s only been a coping mechanism to hide her true feelings for her.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” she averts her gaze, her cheeks turning another shade darker “I always thought she was a cool girl, even before you two got together. I looked up to her, kind of, I mean it took me a while to find out what all these weird feelings meant, though.”

Emilie chuckles nervously and sighs deeply “Faen, this really is like a cheap novelette or fanfic or some shit.”

Even doesn’t laugh, instead, he takes her hand and gently squeezes it, he looks at her with a warm-hearted smile “Never apologize for what you feel, Ems. These are your feelings and they’re valid, they’re not stupid.”

Emilie places her other hand on Even’s and gently squeezes back “Have I ever told you that you’re the best brother in the whole wide world? I love you, Evy.”

“I try my best.” Even gives her a bright smile which she mirrors.

.

It’s sometime around midnight when Even falls face forward in his bed, his head’s aching a bit, this whole day has been something, actually it has been a lot. First the shoot and interview with Isak – sweet, sweet Isak – and then the Emilie - Sonja thing. This day was a good day even though it had its flaws and it left Even exhausted. Exhausted but also happy.

Even reaches for the phone under his pillow to set an alarm for the morning, he smiles as the dim light of the screen exposes Isak's handwriting on the back of his hand – with all this going on here he almost forgot about it.

He runs a finger over it, just lightly, because he doesn't want to smudge the words and numbers on his skin. Even remembers how gentle the other boy let the pen glide over his skin, as if he was scared he’d hurt Even if he’d press on too hard. Even smiles and in this moment his heart feels too big for his chest, it feels as if it's about to explode. It's just a little gesture but still it left Even all flustered and tongue-tied. _God, what are you doing to me?_

Even wishes he could preserve Isak's handwriting on his skin in some kind of way, it's a bit of a weird thought, but Even can't help it, he wants to remember that for all eternity. He knows it's silly, but he takes a picture of the back of his hand nevertheless, smiling to himself like a love-drunk idiot. He saves Isak's number in his phone as well – just to be really sure it will still be there when he wakes up – before he buries his phone under the pile of pillows on his bed.

He stares at the dark ceiling, his brain going through all the things that happened today and despite the rather eventful day sleep takes over him fairly quickly. The last thing Even thinks about is Isak, his smile, his laugh, his eyes, his angelic curls, just everything about him. Even falls asleep, smiling and it’s not hard to guess what he’s dreaming of this night.

Golden curls and pink hair bands.

.

When Even opens his eyes this morning, he feels a little more at ease, the awkward tension from the past days finally gone and his heart feels lighter, so much lighter.

He yawns heartily as he shuffles in the kitchen, running a hand through his messy hair before he opens the shelf above the stove. He's not surprised, but he still sighs as he finds the tea package empty in there. They really need to start writing shopping lists before they head for grocery shopping or otherwise they forget half the stuff they actually need.

“Morning.” Mutta walks in the kitchen, Even can see that his friend's still a bit tensed, that he's somehow tiptoeing around him. Mutta leans against the kitchen table and Even can feel that his friend is buzzing internally with nervousness, the whole room seems to buzz with it.

“Morning.” Even gives his friend a genuine, comforting smile, trying to let the other boy know that everything's okay without actually speaking it out.

With that the other boy eventually starts to relax, he takes a deep breath before he mirrors Even's smile and asks “You up for a cup of tea at KB? My treat.”

“Sure.” Even nods, closes the shelf above him and making a mental note to add tea to their shopping list.

.

Five minutes into the walk Even realizes that Mutta leads them to the KB where Isak works, but he doesn't mind, he'd love to see the other boy at this fine morning. They walk in silence, both of them emerged in their own thoughts, but it's not uncomfortable, sharing silence with Mutta is never uncomfortable. Maybe it's because Mutta's the calm anchor of their group and he's that kind of guy that doesn't need words to make you feel comfortable or at ease, his presence alone manages to do that. Even really missed their comfortable silences, he missed them to bits, even though it only have been a few days. And Even's probably too dramatic right now, but he really did miss them and he wonders once more how he managed to function the last year at Bakka without the boys by his side.

A light chuckle escapes Even’s lips and he lightly shakes his head, he wanted to hold it in but it's impossible, he's just too happy to have this here back. The happiness and relieve just somehow wanting to make their way out of his chest.

Mutta looks at him, his brows slightly raised, an amused grin on his lips “A penny for your thoughts, Ev.”

“I don't know how to put it in words, though, I guess I'm just happy.” Even chuckles some more and the other boy joins him. Mutta's ringing laugh and seeing him so carefree again makes Even's heart swell in his chest. Finally it's _soon_ and everything seems to be okay again. They walk the rest of their way to the coffee shop, laughing about nothing, laughing about everything.

As they arrive at the coffee shop Even tries to make his search for the boy with the blond curls subtle, but Mutta beside him seems to realize that he's looking for someone because there's a knowing half grin drawn to his lips as Even looks back at him. Even can feel a light blush blooming on his cheeks, but both of them leave it uncommented.

Isak's not here today, though, so Even suggests to grab hot drinks to go and continue their walk to the football field. Much to his surprise, it doesn't take much persuasiveness for Mutta to agree. Usually, Mutta's the one who always complains how much he hates the cold weather and being out in the cold, but today he agrees with a smile and a short nod "Okay, let's go."

.

They sit down at the very last row of the stands, hands wrapped around their carry out cups and taking cautious sips from their pretty hot beverages. Even let his eyes wander along the field, the grass is still covered with early frost and the little ice crystals make it seem as if the grass is shining.

Even turns his head to look at his friend, he studies Mutta's profile for a little while. He has missed his friend, he has missed sitting somewhere with him and being quiet and still feeling like it’s the best conversation he’s ever had.

Mutta turns his head, holding Even’s gaze for another few breaths, his eyes and expression soft before he eventually quietly asks “Are you really okay with it?”

Mutta knows, he knows that even if Even wouldn’t be okay with it, he still would've told his sister that he was fine with it, because Even never wants to stand in the way of anyone's happiness, and especially not Emilie's. Mutta knows that deep down Even still feels like he owes his sister for the years he’s occupied center stage and she had to cut back.

But Even is honestly okay with it, there’s not a single negative feeling in his chest when he thinks about his sister being with Sonja, so he answers truthfully “Yes, I really am.”

Mutta nods, wrapping his fingers tighter around the cup in his hands, he bites down his bottom lip and Even can imagine what Mutta is searching the right words for, so he smiles at him “Don’t worry, I’m not just saying this because it's Emilie. I am okay with it. Honestly.”

“Okay.” Mutta exhales and after a few breaths of studying Even's face, he repeats “Okay.”

Silence settles between the boys again, they're sipping on their drinks and Even watches the little clouds of his breath escaping his mouth.

“I really thought you and Emilie had a thing, though.” he breaks the silence, making Mutta snort with his words.

“As if I hadn’t tried, man.” Mutta sighs and leans back at the concrete pier.

Even almost chokes on his tea “What? You tried to hit on my sister?”

“Uhm, well, yes.” the boy blushes and nervously runs a hand through his hair, huffing out an awkward chuckle “But well seems like I'm not quite her type.”

“Faen, seems like the Bech Næsheims really charm everyone, huh?” Even barks out a laugh at his own lame joke.

Mutta rolls his eyes but joins his laughter “The Bech Næsheim charm - the myth that no one quite gets, but still, everyone's falling for.”

It’s good, it's freeing to laugh about stupid jokes with Mutta on this Friday morning.

“I missed you, man.” Even admits, because he knows that Mutta won’t laugh at him, because he knows Mutta knows what he actually means with his words. Mutta knows that these words implement more than someone else might think and he knows what they mean to Even.

 _I don't want something like what happened back in Bakka to happen ever again.  
It's us against the world._These aren't only ordinary or cheesy words for the boys, they meant something.

“Missed you, too, man.” Mutta wraps an arm around Even’s shoulder and lightly squeezes it “Sorry, for not telling you right away and making things awkward as fuck. I just didn't know how to handle this, I felt like exploding and telling you everything all the goddamn time.”

“It’s okay.” Even gives his friend a weak smile.

“No, it’s not.” Mutta shakes his head “I should’ve told you, or I should’ve nagged Emilie to finally tell you. We left you hanging in the unknown and we left you out. That was a shitty move and I really felt like an asshole because of it."

Mutta’s words leave Even speechless, he looks at his friend and the only thing he manages to do is to slowly nod. Even can’t remember that they ever addressed wrong behavior and hurt feelings like that, they talked about it yes, but usually not that straight forward. Usually there wouldn’t have been words after Even’s “it’s okay.”, just a hug and things would be okay again. So this here leaves him sort of tongue-tied, because it's new, but Even likes that development, although he doesn’t know what to answer.

It’s quiet between them again, but Even doesn’t feel uncomfortable, not with Mutta. Even drinks the last sip of his tea, stands up from the bench to throw away his cup. As he comes back, he smiles at Mutta and says “You wanna head back you look like you're freezing.”

“Yes, please.” Mutta breaths before he buries his face deeper in his scarf and his hands in the pockets of his coat.

Even huffs out a laugh “You know, you could've said that you wanted to stay in the coffee shop, though.”

“No it's fine, it's what I deserve.” Mutta grins at Even and Even barks out a laugh.

.

“So there's one more thing you need to tell me, man.” Even says as they walk back to their apartment.

Mutta slaps his own forehead and snorts “I'm an idiot, I still haven't told you, why I knew about this whole thing.”

Even chuckles, slightly shaking his head “No, please enlighten me.”

“Sonja kind of told me accidentally.” Mutta brushes a hand through his hair.

“Accidentally?” Even’s brows furrow.

“Remember William's party? The night she got wasted and threw up in the bushes and crashed on our couch?”

“Yeah.”

“Well I saw her doing shots in the kitchen that night, she seemed a bit out of it so I pulled her aside and gave her some water, trying to sober her up a bit before bringing her home.” Mutta bites down his bottom lip before he continues.

“She was mumbling drunk nonsense, but in between, she said something about seeing Emilie. She didn't answer when I ask what she meant with seeing her, I had no idea if she meant seeing as in dating or just meeting up. I was that confused and kind of shocked that I went out to smoke.” Mutta chuckles awkwardly.

“Oh.” Even remembers finding him outside smoking before they decided to leave and go home, he remembered that Mutta told him that he was alone out there on the terrace because he was thinking about life and the universe.

“I asked her the next day and Mikael walked in the living room midst our conversation.” Mutta sighs.

“So he knew as well. Do all the boys know?” Even's chewing on his inner cheek, hoping they don't.

“No, I don’t think so. I haven’t told them anything.” Mutta reassures him and Even doesn’t know why but he feels weirdly relieved about that, it makes him feel not that excluded, not that left out.

Even remembers the time he interrupted that rather feisty discussion in the living room, he remembers how the voices died down when he stepped in the room and they all looked like deer caught in headlights.

Mutta seems to have the exact same thought because he adds “That one day you “caught” us discussing in the living room, we weren't talking about that.”

“You didn't?” Even's brows raise.

“No, not exactly, we were just discussing hiding things from one's best friend in general.” Mutta clarifies and Even exhales deeply, feeling relieved that the boys weren't talking about this behind his back.

“Secrets suck.” Even sighs and Mutta nods agreeing.

“I'm sorry, Even. It’ll never happen again. Pinky promise.” Mutta smiles at him as he holds his pinky up. Even mirrors his smile, linking his pinky with Mutta's and they both start to laugh.

.

Later that day Even's sitting in one of his courses, scrolling mindlessly through his Instagram feed because the topic the professor's talking about is boring as hell. He's scrolling through memes, he's already seen last week, he sighs and opens his contacts.

His finger is hovering over Isak's name for a good minute before he eventually decides to open the message app to text the other boy. He stares at the blank white space with a frown on his forehead, he literally has no clue what to text. He types a few sentences, but every single one feels either too needy or too pathetic. Even gives up after a few minutes, more than frustrated. How can it be so hard to send a text to Isak? Maybe he should just send a meme, but what if Isak finds it lame? Even rolls his eyes about his own self-conscious thoughts and wants to burry his phone back in his pocket when it vibrates.

It's a text from Sonja, asking if he wants to see the draw of the newsletter. Of course Even wants to see it, so he answers her that he'll be there as soon as his course is over.

.

Even swings the door to the room open and finds a rather nervous and lightly pale Sonja sitting in front of a laptop.

She turns toward him, forcing a smile to her lips “Hei.”

He gives her the softest smile he can manage “Hei.”

Sonja's tensed body and face relax a little, her eyes following Even as he walks up to her, he can see that her mind's working, that she's searching for words.  Even sits down beside her and she sighs, her shoulders sink a bit and she looks down on her hands, for Even this here feels like déjà vu “I'm sorry, Even. I just didn't know how to tell you. I know you're probably mad at me, but I hope you don't hate me now, I mean I get if you do. I just hope you don't, because one you're one of the best people I've ever met and I don't want to lose you. And I just...”

“You're rambling, Soni.” Even chuckles beside her.

“Sorry.” Sonja looks back in his eyes, she manages a small smile, but the glance in her eyes is still more than unsure.

“I'm not mad at you.” Even says truthfully, he's not mad at her, he's not mad at anyone. Love happens. He just wishes that his sister, Mikael, Mutta and Sonja would've told him right away, to avoid this more than awkward days and the days of wrecking his brain.

“You're not mad at me?” the girl states, surprise written all over her face.

“No, why would I be mad?” Even lightly shakes his head, but Sonja still doesn't seem very convinced, her expression is still worried.

“Because it's a bit of an awkward situation, isn't it? I mean, we were together for three years and now I'm kind of with your sister.” Sonja looks down on her hands again, frowning.

“Sonja, I'm gonna tell you the same I told Ems. I'm not mad, there's no reason to be mad. We broke up for good over two years ago, we're friends, always have been.” Even takes one of her hands in his and lightly squeezes it “I'm happy for you two. Really. I'm happy that Emi finally found someone, so good and kind. Maybe in the end the reason we've been together was that you met Ems.”

“Oh my God, are you really referring to Twilight right now?” Sonja chuckles, brushing her hand over her eyes.

“Everything to make you smile again.” Even squeezes her hand again and she smiles.

Sonja leans forward and wraps Even in a hug “You're truly one of the best people. I can't say that often enough.”

“You too, Soni. I love you.” he says beside her ear.

As they let go of each other, Even tries to make the expression on his face as serious as he can “But I gotta tell you something.” Sonja knits her brows, questioningly searching his face and Even goes on in a serious tone “If you break my little sister's heart, well I don't know what I'll do then, but I'll think of something.”

His face breaks out in a smile and Sonja rolls her eyes, huffing out a laugh “You're such an idiot.”

.

“Faen, I didn't think it would turn out that good, though.” Even admits, smiling brightly at Sonja, nudging his shoulder with hers.

“Yeah, right?” the girl grins happily “The guys did a really great job with the editing. And your photos are awesome. Look.”

Sonja shows him the pictures he had taken of the guys and Even knows that self-praise stinks, but they're really good.

He feels that Sonja's eyes are darting between him and the screen while she's scrolling through the sites. He sees in the corner of his eyes that the smile on her lips gets brighter as they reach the one that shows Isak.

She stops scrolling to give Even time to read through the short profile and the few sentences about the boy. A smile spreads on his lips and Even's more than sure that everyone who'll read this will love Isak. Even can't stop staring at the pictures Sonja chose of the boy, he knew that she would choose the one in which Isak has that intense, knee-weakening stare. But he's surprised by the choice of the second picture, it shows a brightly smiling Isak, his blond curls covered by his red snap back. These two photos are so different, they could be different people - like Isak on the field and everyday Isak. Even loves Sonja's choice.

Without hesitating and thinking further about it, Even grabs out the phone of the pocket of his jeans. The girl beside him frowns with a puzzled look written all over her face, but she only asks what he's actually doing as Even takes a picture of the screen “Okay? What are you doing?”

“Isak asked me to send him the final pictures before the newsletter gets published.” Even answers, nonchalantly.

“Oh, okay.” she slowly nods, looking back at the screen with a wide, knowing grin on her lips. Even ignores it or better said he's too occupied to phrase the message he wants to send the other boy with the pictures of the newsletter.

It's short and before he can think any further and write it over again for another ten times, Even hits send and buries the phone back in his pocket. He draws his attention to the girl beside him and smiles “You guys did a really great job in such a short time, I mean two days, holy fuck. I'm convinced that people will love it.”

“You were a great help, though. Thank you, Evy.” Sonja smiles at him, leaning her head on his shoulder “Thank you, for everything.” Even doesn't answer, he just places a kiss on her hair and smiles.

.

When Even gets home in the late afternoon, the living room's buzzing with voices, Even smiles, it seems like the boys are all here for a hangout.

He makes his way to the living, the first time in days that he doesn't feel anxious doing so, he walks in there and greets his friends with a genuine smile on his lips and fist bumps. Even feels relieved that it doesn't feel weird or awkward, it feels like a casual hang out without any tension, how it should be.

“Where have you been so long, man?” Elias asks, taking a bite from the slice of pizza in his hand.

“I had to get an assignment done and needed to head to the library for that.” Even says, flopping down on the couch beside the boy.

Elias pats his shoulder “You just came right or else these animals would've eaten all the pizza, though.” he reaches Even a big slice.

“You're always taking good care of Even, Elias. You're like a mom.” Adam huffs out a laugh and the other boys join.

“Shut up, idiot.” Elias shoots a glare at him and Adam sticks out his tongue like a little kid. How much he missed this.

“So what's the plan for tonight?” Even ignores their banter and looks between the boys.

“We were actually thinking about just hanging out here and playing some games, though.” Mutta says and leans back at the couch, making himself even more comfortable.

“Sounds good to me.” Even nods and takes a bite from his pizza.

Their chill game quickly develops to a proper tournament which all of them take rather serious, it's always like this.

Even's in the midst of his battle against Mikael when Adam behind him says with a surprised voice “Yo Even, Isak's calling.”

“What?” Even asks, but he doesn't take his eyes from the tv.

“Isak's calling,” Adam repeats and Even finally pauses the game, grabbing the phone from Adam's hand.

He looks at the screen and his heart stumbles over itself when he sees that the other boy is really calling him. He feels his face heating up and for a second he starts to panic, but as his eyes find Mikael's, who nods encouraging, he manages to slide his thumb over the screen and take the call.

“Hei.” Even says quietly, suddenly aware of how silent it got in the living room, all the boys’ eyes on him.

“Hei, Even.” Isak says at the other side of the line, his voice sounding a bit tired “I know it’s kinda last minute, but Chris just decided ten minutes ago that the team will throw a Halloween party tomorrow and I wanted to invite you and your friends. I mean it’s okay if you already have other plans or don’t want to come.” the other boy huffs out a nervous chuckle and sighs “Now I’m rambling, sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Even joins the boy's chuckle “Uhm, I don’t think the guys have already planned something, though.”

“Great.” Even can hear that Isak's smiling now, it makes him smile as well, but it falters when he hears a male voice in the background saying a time, for a second it sounds like that someone wants to grab the phone from Isak and tell Even himself, but it's Isak who eventually says “Sorry, though, I don't know if you heard it, but the party starts at around 8. I'll text you the address, yeah?”

“Yeah, okay.” is all Even can say, still a little confused what's going on at the other side of the line.

“See you tomorrow then. Bye, Ev.”

“Bye.” Even puts the phone back on the table, he doesn't know what to think of that call, he doesn't know if he should be happy that Isak invited them or if he should feel sad because of the male voice in the background. But he has no right to be jealous, though, Isak told him that he's got something complicated going on, Even knew, so why does he still feel that bummed right now? Maybe because something in him still hoped that Isak meant something different with “it's complicated” than having a boyfriend or girlfriend.

The boys look at him, all with raised brows and curious expressions, they're waiting for him to speak, none of them wants to break the silence before Even's not ready. Even takes a deep breath before he says as nonchalantly as possible “Isak invited us to the team's Halloween party tomorrow.”

“Isak invited us,” Mutta says slowly, unnecessary stressing every word and the boys nod along. Even tries his best to act clueless, trying to ignore his friends' stupid and rather childish behavior.

“So Isak, huh?” Mikael repeats, a shit eating grin on his face.

“Yes, Isak. That’s his name.” Even blurts out and immediately blushes furiously. So much to keeping it cool around the boys.

“So what is going on between you and Isak, Even?” Elias asks, his brows raised in amusement. Seems like all of them know that he's crushing on the boy from the football team.

“Nothing. We’re just friends.”

“Oh, just friends.” the boys look at each other and repeat Even’s words a few times. And Even hates them, he really hates them in this right moment.

“Can you like not act like children right now. We’re just friends, really.” Even rolls his eyes and glares at his friends, but as he sees their doubtful faces he sighs “He’s got someone anyway, so.”

“He is with someone?” Mikael raises his brows “With who?”

“I don’t know, he just told me that it’s complicated.” Even shrugs.

“I’ve never seen him with someone other than his friends or his team mates, though,” Elias says, his forehead wrinkled while he thinks.

“You ever thought that maybe they're not going to UiO?” Adam says and Mutta rolls his eyes “Shut up, Adam.”

“I’m just saying.” the boy pouts and shrugs his arms in front of his chest.

“He just said that it’s complicated, nothing more?” Mutta asks.

“No just that.” Even lightly shakes his head.

“Maybe this has a different meaning than you think, though. I mean 'it’s complicated' can mean anything and nothing. It’s pretty vague.” Mutta says, leaning back at the couch again.

The boys nod and agree with Mutta and Even runs a hand through his hair “Yeah it can mean anything.”

He starts the play again because he can't stand the awkward silence that has settled in the room and he doesn’t want to speak about this anymore. He doesn’t want to assume shit, when he’s only got three words. _It is complicated._ Like Mutta said it can mean anything or nothing at all.

Mikael glances at him from the side and when their eyes meet he whispers “I think it means nothing. I saw the way he looks at you, though.”

And Mikael's words don’t leave Even's mind until he falls asleep that night. _I saw the way he looks at you._

.

The boys break out into loud laughter when they all meet up at Even's apartment. Before they left yesterday they all bragged about their great ideas for their Halloween costumes and now they're standing here wearing the exact same costumes they wore last year and the year before.

Adam and Mikael are dressed up in black suits, black sun glasses sitting on top of their heads and they're holding weird sticks that look like the flashy things from 'Men in Black'. Elias wears a white button down shirt, that's half-unbuttoned so you can see his Superman-shirt underneath. Mutta’s once again dressed up as Wolverine - wild, fake chops, claws, white tank top and all. Yousef’s keeping it casual in a Chicago Bulls jersey with the number 23 on it and a fitting bandana to keep the hair out of his face. Even chose the blue button down with that ridiculously colorful flower pattern on it again, the first three buttons open, like Romeo in the Baz Luhrmann movie.

“The same procedure as every year.” Even barks out laugh and the boys join him. And somehow Even feels like it's going to be a good night.

.

Even’s eyes can’t stop wandering around the house, it looks amazing, it seems like Christoffer really put some effort in the Halloween decoration. Even’s not gonna lie, he’s deeply impressed by it and suddenly he feels a bit under-dressed in his Halloween costume, he feels like every single one of them is under-dressed compared to the decoration.

The house is not too backed yet, but it's already pretty busy and more and more people are entering the front door.

Elias grabs Even's arm and says “We're getting some drinks, come on.”

As they walk in the kitchen, they find a busy Isak in there, he's filling the fridge with drinks and some bowls with chips and other stuff. He opens shelves and cupboards searching for something and Even asks himself how often he's already been here to feel that comfortable rummaging Christoffer's kitchen like that.

“Halla.” Even says and Isak startles a little, but he smiles as soon as he recognizes Even.

“Hei.” Isak’s looking up and down on him, Even’s sure that he has no idea what Even is dressed up as.

“Yo, Isak.” Elias cheers. He walks up to the other boy and greets him with a fist bump “Is it okay if we grab some drinks.”

“Yeah, sure.” Isak nods towards the fridge before his eyes fall back on Even, he opens his mouth to say something, but a loud voice beats him to it.

“Isak?” a girl in a big, light blue hoodie, the hood pulled deeply in her face and black sunglasses on her nose walks in the kitchen. As soon as she sees Isak she sighs deeply “Finally found you.”

“What's up?” there's a frown on Isak's forehead.

“Chris asked if you locked the rooms upstairs. He doesn't want a stranger fucking or sleeping in his bed again.” she has a mischievous smile on her lips now.

Isak rolls his eyes and exhales loudly “I will check them again, just to be really sure.”

“Thank you, Issy.” Eva places a peck on his cheek and adds “You need help with your costume?”

Isak's face softens a bit as he answers “No, it's okay, go have fun. But if you see Chris somewhere tell him I need him upstairs, yeah?”

“Will do.” the girl grins at him before she disappears out the kitchen again.

Even has pulled out his phone, acting as if he's checking something on it because he felt stupid standing there and staring at the two of them, while Elias prepared drinks for the whole squad. Even's not the type, who eavesdrops, but he could not not hear what they were talking, they were in the same room after all.

And Even's confused, is Christoffer Isak's “it's complicated”? It would explain a lot, though. Isak's walking around Christoffer's house like it's his own, Christoffer asking him to check if the rooms upstairs are locked, Isak needing him upstairs later. It takes everything in him to not grimace at the thought of that. Maybe they're only good mates and Isak has a crush on the other boy and that's why it's complicated.

“Ev?” Elias snorts beside him, thankfully tearing him out of the ridiculous clutter of his thoughts.

“Hmm?” Even looks up from his phone to his friend.

“Can you help me with the drinks?” Elias' eyes roam his face, there's a frown on the boy's forehead, but just for a split second.

“Yeah, sure.”

.

Even doesn't find Isak in the crowd for a long while after that, but he tries his best to not to think about Isak's whereabouts too much. He has a good time with the boys, Sonja and his little sister. They laugh a lot and it doesn't feel weird, not even for a second, not even when Sonja and his sister kiss in front of his eyes.

“You wanna join me for a smoke?” Mutta whispers beside him as he catches Even looking around the crowd for what felt like the thousandth time.

“Yes.” Even nods enthusiastically, a grin on his lips as they make their way through the crowd and out on the terrace.

They find some garden chairs around the left corner of the house, they're alone there since all the people are huddled together at the terrace.

Mutta lights the joint, takes the first drag and breaths out the smoke in the cold air “Why don't you talk to him?”

“Huh?” Even takes the joint from Mutta's fingers.

“Why don't you talk to Isak?” Mutta clarifies his question “Your eyes are constantly searching for him, though.”

“That obvious?” Even takes a drag and exhales it deeply again.

“Pretty obvious, yes.” Mutta nods, patting Even's shoulder in compassion “Are you still unsure because of that 'it's complicated' stuff?”

“Mmh.” Even hums “I don't want to barge in something, you know.”

“Even.” his friend lightly shakes his head and muses “Isak's a big boy, I think he can make his own decisions. And if he's really in a complicated relationship, doesn't that mean it's not that great after all? Doesn't that mean it's as good as done?”

“I don't know.” Even sighs, taking another hit before he reaches the joint back to his friend.

“If you want to find out what it means, you gotta talk to the boy, there's no other way, man,” Mutta says matter-of-factly.

“I hate it when you're all wise and shit.” Even huffs out a chuckle.

“Stop lying, you love it.” Mutta grins widely at him.

.

Even’s head feels a little like floating when he steps back in the house, he's not high as a kite, but still on a good level, though. When he sees Isak dancing in the crowd and loudly singing to a song beside a unicorn and a huge tampon, he thinks that it’s only a weird imagination caused by the weed he just smoked.

He lets himself fall on the couch beside Yousef, who’s seemingly having an intense conversation with Sana who's wearing a blonde wig over her hijab and pink lipstick tonight. Even knows that these two are sort of having a relationship, everyone seems to know but them.

He doesn’t join their conversation, though, he doesn’t want to interrupt, he only smiles at Sana, who’s giving him a soft smile in return before she continues talking to Yousef.

Even lets his eyes wander around the crowd again, there are Sonja and his sister, they both look shy, but flirty at the same time with their pink and blue wigs on their head – they look really cute and Even envies them for what they have with each other.

He takes his eyes from the love birds, searching for the rest of his friends in the crowd, but that is quickly forgotten when his eyes land on Isak again. Isak is wearing his costume now and Even recognizes it immediately although Isak's a much younger version of it.

They boy is dressed up as Mr. Fredricksen from the movie Up!, he's wearing dark gray dress pants and a grayish tweed jacket, his curls are slicked back, glasses with a black frame are sitting on his nose, a black bow's gracing around his neck, there are even two balloons floating above him. Even smiles to himself, Isak looks cute even dressed up as an old man.

The boy’s still screaming and dancing to the song and now Even realizes that the unicorn and tampon are actual costumes and they weren't just there in his imagination, there's also the girl with the big blue hoodie, she's dancing with a girl with a black wig on and then she's kissing her. _Oh._ He watches them jumping around drunkenly and it seems like they’re having the time of their lives, like they have no care in the world.

Isak’s face is flushed, Even doesn’t know if it’s from light embarrassment he’s currently feeling because of the sing-shouting or if it’s because of the drinks he's already had tonight.

Even doesn't know where the rush of sudden courage comes from, but he doesn't question it, he gets up from the couch, Mutta's words in the back of his mind, ready to make his way to the other boy and talk to him.

The song ends and Even stops, his knees almost giving in when Isak's eyes land on him, the boy looks at him as if he's been searching for him all night and now finally found him. Even has no idea if he imagines this right now or if this is actually happening, his brain settles for the second option.

He shamelessly stares at Isak across the room, not giving a single fuck, who might see him. His knees almost give in because of how intense Isak's stare is and when the other boy licks his lips it's suddenly hard to breath.

Isak starts moving towards him and Even gasps, he actually gasps because Isak's eyes never leave him and his stare is still so fucking intense.

“Hei.” Isak almost shouts over the loud music and it still sounds like a whisper, filled with promises and secrets.

“Hei.” Even breaths way too quiet for Isak to actually hear it, Even's stunned how beautiful Isak looks tonight. The light film of sweat shining on his forehead, his eyes big and filled with unspoken promises behind the big glasses and for a second Even forgets how to breath.

Isak tilts his head a little as his lightly hooded eyes roam Even's face, a smirk comes to the other boy's lips “Come with me. I gotta show you something.”

And Even does, because how can he not follow Isak when he's looking at him like that, he would follow him to the end of the earth. Even's carefully putting one foot in front of the other, thinking about every step he's taking, because he doesn't want to trip and embarrass himself in front of the other boy, not now.

Isak leads him to the stairs, there's a band and a sign with “Keep the fuck out!”, but Isak doesn't give a fuck and just slips through under it.

Even stills because he remembers Christoffer not wanting anyone upstairs, Isak looks at him with raised brows “What's wrong?”

“Are we allowed to go up there? I don't want to piss Chris off, though.” Even doesn't want to piss him off, because he doesn't know if Christoffer is still friends with Aleks or something.

Isak walks down the few steps he had already taken, with one hand he grabs the band and lifts it, while the other hand is extended towards Even. Even doesn't know why he still hesitates, it's Isak reaching for him after all, but he still does “You sure that's okay? I really don't want to piss him off.”

Isak doesn't laugh at him or make fun of him, he doesn't even look annoyed by Even's hesitation. Instead Isak closes his eyes as if he's thinking carefully about it and then he nods “Yeah, totally sure.”

They stop in front of the second door on the right, Even flushes, he can feel his whole body heating up, his palms getting damp because of his nervousness.  
_What are we doing up here? What is happening? Why did Isak bring me up here? Does he want to?_

Even's train of thought gets interrupted by Isak lightly chuckling beside him “Is everything okay?”

“Why did you lead me up here?” Even blurts out because he's a little bit high and his brain doesn't seem to be capable of using any filter right now. He wishes for the ground to swallow him whole as soon as the words are out.

Isak doesn't seem to be surprised by his words, he still seems pretty relaxed. He licks his lips and tilts his head to the side, studying Even's face with slightly narrowed eyes and pursed lips.

A smug smile dances on his lips as he says “Get in and find out.”

.

They're lying on Isak's bed, beside each other, in a ying-yang position, head beside head. Isak passes the joint to Even, their fingers lightly brushing together and Even needs to hold in a gasp because his skin is prickling where Isak just touched him.

Even's still overwhelmed that he's in here, in Isak's room, lying on his bed. The scent of the other boy is so present in here, it's dizzying and clouding Even's mind even more than the weed. It's a ridiculous thought, getting high from Isak's scent, Even huffs out a quiet chuckle with the smoke.

Isak looks at him, his eyes wandering along Even's features, his glance is not as intense as it has been earlier, it's calmer now, but still so so present that it warms Even from the inside nevertheless.

“What's so funny?” Isak breaths beside him.

Even turns his head and he's once more overwhelmed how good Isak looks tonight, his face illuminated by the low lightening in the room. Isak took off his tweed jacket and got rid of the balloons tied to his trousers before they laid down and he lighted a joint. He looks cute with the white button-down shirt and the bow still around his neck.

“Nothing.” Even says, not able to hold back his grin.

“You're adorable when you're drunk.” Isak smiles and it's so soft.

“I'm not drunk.” Even slightly shakes his head “But I might be a bit high.”

Isak's smile gets brighter and he breaths “Still adorable.” He takes the joint from Even's fingers and takes a long, deep drag. Even watches him, he watches his every move and he wishes he could touch, he wishes so bad he could just reach out and touch.

They don't speak much up there in Isak's room, they just look at each other while reaching the joint between them. But Even feels like there's no need to talk, it feels like they say enough with their eyes and smiles.

.

“So this is your room.” Even says dumbly after they ended their second joint, still in Isak's room.

“This is my room.” Isak chuckles beside him, he leans up on one of his arms, smiling down at Even as he asks “Why were you so nervous when I lead you up here?”

“I wasn't nervous.” Even lies and his attempt is terrible.

Isak just cocks an eyebrow, waiting for Even to answer his former question, but then suddenly his face breaks out into a huge grin and he barks out a laugh “Faen, you thought I brought you up here to...”

“No, I didn't!” Even blurts without letting Isak even finish that sentence, he blushes furiously because of Isak's sudden and surprising bluntness.

Isak lets himself fall back on his back, actually holding his stomach as his ringing laugh fills the room. Even blinks a few times looking at him with a frown, but still enjoying the sound of Isak's laugh. Is there any other sound that's more beautiful than Isak Valtersen's laugh? Even can't think of any.

“Stop laughing, Is.” Even shoves the boy's shoulder, but he can't stop help but join him.

They're laughing, laying on Isak's bed until they actually forget what they're laughing about. And it feels good, so good that Isak feels as comfortable with Even as he does with Isak, but at the same time Even’s afraid that maybe Isak only sees him as a friend.

.

“So you're living here with Eva and Christoffer?” Even asks.

They're sitting on Isak's windowsill now, looking down in the backyard. People smoking out there are huddled up to another because it's freezing.

“Yeah, it's Eva, Magnus, PChris and me.” Isak nods, smiling.

“Jeez how big is this house?” Even's brows shoot up.

Isak shrugs and sighs “My parents used to live here before they got a divorce. My dad always loved big, expensive things, you know, cars, houses, and all that crap.”

Even hears the change in Isak's voice, it sounds sad and tired as if only thinking about his dad exhausts him to his bones “When he left my mom didn't wanted to live here alone, the memories and all. My parents were okay with me living here with my friends, my own little family.” Isak's face lights up again and it warms Even's heart that Isak thinks of his friends as family, because that's how he feels about his little squad too.

“I gotta ask because I'm curious as fuck, but how the hell did Christoffer end up here?” Even chuckles to direct the topic away from Isak's parents, because he can sense that the younger boy doesn't really want to talk about them.

“He only moved in about half a year ago or something. He had stress with his parents and Magnus asked if he could stay here. We all know him from Nissen, Eva even hooked up with him a few times back then.

And Magnus has a big heart, too big for his own good sometimes.” Isak lightly shakes his head, but there's still a fond smile on his lips as he speaks about his friend.

“Me and Chris once teamed up against the Yakuza assholes and played football a few times that's how I knew he was actually an okay guy. A big plus is that he can cook pretty good, so we decided that he could stay.” Isak laughs as he sees Even's frown “Chris is not that bad, Even.”

“Your house is a wild combination of people.” Even joins Isak's laughter.

“You have no fucking idea.” Isak grins.

“Uhm why do you guys call him PChris, though?”

“The P is short for penetrator.” Isak shrugs “And since there's Christina as well and we got all confused all the time while hanging out we call Christoffer PChris.” Isak says it as if it's the most normal thing the world.

“Penetrator? What the fuck?” Even's brows shoot up “You call him like that because he fucks everything that moves?” Even bites down his bottom lip, he’s so stupid, Isak seems to have something “complicated” going on with that boy and Even cracks jokes that he’s fucking everyone.

“I mean you’re not wrong.” Isak snorts, lightly shaking his head “He's quite promiscuous.”

And Even wonders if that's the reason why it's complicated “You’re okay with that?”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay with that? His life, his choices, though.” Isak answers one of his brows raised questioningly.

“But I thought you and him were..?”

“What!?” Isak yelps, his face screwed up on disbelieve, before Even can even finish his question “You thought I’m together with Chris?” Isak shakes his head, still visibly shocked by Even's assumption.

“You seem kinda close, though.” Even shrugs helplessly, he's embarrassed and he feels stupid for assuming stuff.

“Jeez, we’re kind of friends, I mean we live under the same roof, but he's definitely not my boyfriend. Faen.” Isak snorts, lightly shaking his head as if that's the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard in his life.

“It looks a lot like it when you're on the field, though. He was all flirty with you and stuff.” Even says and he doesn't know why, Jesus his brain really has no filter right now and he feels like a five year old defending himself.

“Even.” Isak looks at him, his face soft and still flushed from all the laughing “Chris is flirty with literally everyone. He's just like that.”

 _Well, not with me._ Even thinks his words, he doesn't speak them out because he doesn't want to embarrass himself even more.

Isak stands up from the windowsill, straightens his button-down shirt, but it doesn't quite help, it's all wrinkly and the bow around his neck is askew and almost completely at the back of his neck. His curls are a mess, standing in all different directions, but still he looks nothing but beautiful to Even.

Isak grabs Even by the wrist and pulls him up on his feet, he jokes “Come on let's get back down, Romeo. I'm sure my “boyfriend” already misses me.”

"You recognize my costume?" Even huffs out a chuckle as he stands on his feet again.

"Yeah, Eva made me watch that movie for like ten times." Isak smiles at him and Even can tell that maybe that's a little lie and Isak watched the movie because he wanted to and not because Eva forced him "Let's get your ridiculous shirt back downstairs."

Even huffs out another laugh, but before Isak opens the door to his room, Even stops his steps and pulls Isak a step back towards him “Wait a second. There's just...” Isak looks at him with big eyes, his lips slightly parted, if Even had to describe the way the other boy looks right now to anyone he'd use the word obscene. Isak looks obscene like this and it takes Even's breath away. _What are you doing to me?_

Everything in him screams to kiss the other boy, but he doesn't, instead he adjusts Isak's bow and brushes his fingers through the boy's hair. Isak's eyes flutter shut under Even's touch, but that's not the only reason why Even runs his fingers through the boy's curls for longer than actually necessary.

When he's done Isak opens his eyes again, his green eyes looking into his blue one's, Even smiles at him “Let's go back downstairs, Mr. Fredricksen.” And because he feels brave at this right moment he takes Isak's hands and intertwines their fingers.

.

The music's blasting and it seems like the whole party crowd is dancing or at least swaying to the music at this point. People seem to feel good, Even for sure feels like on the top of world.

Isak leads Even to the dancing crowd, their fingers still intertwined and Even wishes he would never have to let go ever again.

They dance, okay it's actually more jumping around and making fools out of themselves, but they're having fun. Even sings along every song that comes on with so much passion that Isak can't other but join him, all the people around them do so. And Even can't stop smiling. _Can this night last forever?_

The girl with the light blue hoodie stumbles in Even's arm and she hiccups beside his ear “You must be Even, nice to finally meet you.” She wraps her arms around him for a proper hug.

“Hei.” Even laughs, hugging her back, he beams at her as they let go of each other.

“Eva.” Isak yells over the loud music and wraps her in a hug as well.

The dance floor is a mess of people dancing, jumping and bawling to the music, Even's so emerged in the crowd and by Isak and Eva that he actually forgot that his friends and sister are here as well.

Arms get wrapped around him from behind, but Even doesn't need to turn around to know that it's his little sister, he huffs out a laugh, pulls her in front of him and spins her around a few times “Ems.”

“Evy.” Emilie laughs “Are you drunk?”

“No, I'm just high on life.” Even winks at her and she huffs out another laugh.

The boys make their way to them as well now and Even greets them with hugs and kisses on their temples, just because.

He meets Isak's eyes and the boy beams at him, he's smiling so brightly, rosy cheeks and dimples showing. And Even smiles back, because he feels larger than life, because he feels so much happiness, his heart feels close to exploding.

.

Even blinks his eyes open, he doesn't really know where he is, he tries to figure out with the small strand of light that the light post is casting in the room. The scent, that sweet, sweet scent is what lets him know that he's in Isak's room, in Isak's bed, covered with Isak's blanket. It's only now that he realizes that he's not alone in the bed, that Isak's laying right beside him, snoring quietly beside his ear.

And he's not only lying there, he's actually cuddled up to Even, his face clung to his shoulder like a little kitten. One of his hands is lightly grabbing his biceps, trying to keep him here. Even's heart stumbles over itself in his chest and he wishes there would be more light in the room so he could see Isak's face. But he knows without seeing that he must be looking extra soft.

Even leans down and places a kiss on his forehead and runs his fingers through the boys unruly curls, because he just can't help it.

Isak makes the most adorable sound Even has ever heard a human making and he cuddles even closer, wrapping an arm around Even's stomach. Even gasps, because his heart stumbles again in his chest. _What are you doing to me?_

Even closes his eyes, drifting back to sleep with the comforting weight of Isak's arm wrapped around his stomach and his quiet, soft breathing beside his ear.

.

Even's eyes are heavy, he actually needs a few attempts to open them properly and his head's aching a bit. For a second he's disorientated as his eyes roam the room in search of a clue where he is. And again it's the scent that remembers him where he is. Isak's bed.

There's movement at the other side of the bed and Even slowly turns around, right in time to watch Isak slowly waking up. His long lashes flutter open and it only takes one second for his lips to curl up into a little, shy smile.

Isak snuggles half his face in the pillow and whispers “Hei.”

“Hei.” Even whispers back, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Isak's face looks soft and relaxed from sleep, the sun shining on his hair, it almost looks like a halo. Isak doesn't look like he's been partying till early in the morning. Even knows he probably looks like hell, he always does after a night of partying.

Isak's eyes are studying his face, he's looking at him as if he can't believe that he's actually here and that he’s not an imagination. Even wants to say something witty, but the buzzing of his phone interrupts his thinking process.

"I think it's urgent, it's already the third or fourth time it's going off." Isak runs a hand over his face and yawns heartily.

_Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

Even's freezes for a second as realization kicks in, he quickly reaches for his phone in his pants "Shit."

"Where are you, Evy?" his sister's voice asks, it sounds more amused than chiding.

"I'm on my way." Even quickly replies, fighting his way out the cozy, warm blanket and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

Emilie chuckles softly at the other side of the line "It's okay if you're busy, I'm a big girl you don't have to come with me to the airport, though.”

"Ems, I know that, I still want to say goodbye. I meet you at the central station, yeah? I'll be there in 20." Even runs a hand through his messy hair, yawning heartily.

"Okay." Emilie sighs dramatically but Even can hear that she's actually smiling.

Even hangs up and lets himself fall backward on the bed, Isak looks at him with raised brows, his face a little confused “I totally forgot that Emi's heading back to London today."

"Should I give you a ride? It's not that far to the station from here and you'll be faster than with the tram." Isak leans up, giving him a sleepy smile.

Even wants to reach out and brush that one wild curl out of his face, but Isak beats him to it as he lazily brushes his fingers through his hair.

"That would be awesome, Is." he watches him getting up from the bed and making his way to the closet. He doesn’t want to stare, though, he really doesn’t want to, but it’s impossible to not stare at him. Isak looks like a sleepy but still cozy angel in the morning, he looks like out of a dream, Even's most beautiful dream.

.

“Good morning.” Eva’s cheerful words sound more like a question than an actual greeting. She looks between them and Even can see the smirk on her lips that she’s poorly trying to hide with taking a sip from her mug.

“Morning, Eva.” Even smiles at her, still standing at the door frame, waiting for Isak to grab his keys from the counter.

“You joining us for breakfast?” she’s still looking between the two boys and Even catches Isak rolling his eyes at her.

“I’d love to, but my sister’s waiting for me at the central station.” Even gives her an apologetic smile.

“Oh okay, next time then.” she smiles, looking to Isak, smiling even brighter at him.

Isak’s close to rolling his eyes again, but he doesn’t, instead he places a hand on her shoulder and presses a peck on her auburn hair and mutters “I’ll be back soon to take care of the mess.”

“You better be, you only got two hours left.” Eva reminds him, but her voice is still soft, her hand softly patting Isak’s on her shoulder. Even’s surprised about all the softness between the two friends, he thought Isak would be a soft marshmallow but seeing him here with Eva is just simply heartwarming, he’s treating her with so much love and care, like a little sister.

Isak walks out of the kitchen and Even waves Eva goodbye, earning another soft smile from the auburn-haired girl “Bye, Even.” That’s when Even decides that he likes Eva, a lot.

“Don’t forget to put on a scarf it’s freezing out there, Issy.” Eva shouts from the kitchen and Isak scoffs “Yes, mom.”

.

Eva was right it’s freezing out here, this time Even doesn’t hesitate and wraps his arms around the younger boy’s stomach, he even buries his hands in the pockets of Isak’s jacket. After a night of sharing a bed with him, Even feels brave to do so and Isak seems to be okay with it, more than okay actually, he almost immediately melts in Even's arm.

They're both quiet during the ride, although Even has good a million questions to ask, but the headwind is just simply too cold to talk.

Isak stops at a red light, Even waits for him to turn around but he doesn't, but one of his hands finds its way into his jacket pocket and gently squeezes Even's. Even's heart melts and he closes his eyes for a second. He can't believe what such little and simple gestures from Isak do to him, he's never felt something like this ever before.

The way to the central station is short and Even wishes he could have another few minutes on this old, shabby bike, even though it’s piercing cold.

When they arrive at the station Isak's cheeks are rosy from the cold and his nose is too, but still he beams at Even. Even mirrors his smile, how could he not?

“Thank you for letting me crash, the fresh clothes and for the ride. For everything. You're an angel.” Even places a soft peck on Isak's cold, rosy cheek, not really thinking about his words and actions.

He doesn't wait for Isak to respond, he makes his way to the building, smiling to himself and feeling brave. He turns around before he eventually enters the station and sees that Isak's still there, his eyes following him, one of his hands on his cheek as if he's trying to keep the warmth of Even's peck there for just a little while longer.

Even’s so flustered by that endearing sight that he almost runs into an older man, he quickly stammers an apology and disappears in the building, trying to find his sister. Even finds her sitting at some benches.

Emilie jumps up as soon as she sees him walking towards her, her face lighting up with a big smile “Even.” She sounds relieved as she hugs her brother tightly “You made it.”

Even knows that Emilie is a big girl, he knows that she can manage certain things on her own. She's living in London and managing all on her own over there after all, but he also knows that for some things she still needs her big brother and he's thankful for that. He hugs her back just as tightly and breaths “Couldn't let you get in that plane without saying goodbye.”

.

Emilie's head is resting on his shoulder and the girl's eyes close a few minutes into the ride, Even places a kiss on her hair and lets her doze off. She's probably still tired from last night, it seems like Even wasn't the only one who had a fun and long night.

Even watches the houses and trees passing by, the sky's gray today, it looks like it's about to rain or even snow at any minute. He leans his head against the window, closes his eyes as well and lets his mind drift off to earlier this morning. He can't shake off the feeling that has settled in his chest this morning when he woke up to Isak lying beside him. It just felt so right, like he just belonged there. And the way Isak looked at him, with that fond glance in his eyes and this soft expression on his face. Maybe he felt the same.

Even smiles as he remembers Isak's from sleep still relaxed features, his lightly tousled curls framing his face, he looked so cozy like this. Even didn't know it was possible for the other boy to look even more beautiful.

He startles a little as the voice from the speaker announces that they'll be there in a few minutes. Emilie's eyes are still closed, she's still asleep on his shoulder, Even leans his head on hers and whispers “Time to wake up, sleepyhead.”

His sister sighs quietly “5 more minutes.”

“Okay.” Even chuckles quietly, lightly shaking his head, but he lets her have her five more minutes.

.

“You didn't go home last night?” Emilie asks nonchalantly after taking a sip from her coffee.

“Huh, what?” Even raises his brows at his sister, trying his best to not blush like a love-struck idiot. How does she know that he hasn't been home all night?

“I called Mutta since you weren't picking up.” she smiles apologetically at him, “He told me that they left the party without you. And when he checked your room it was empty.” the smile on her lips is turning into a knowing grin and Even is close to roll his eyes and snort “So where have you been all night?”

“I stayed at Isak's.” Even shrugs, trying his best to keep his voice at a casual tone, he lifts the mug in his hand up to his mouth to hide the smile that immediately tugs at the corner of his lips at the mention of the other boy's name.

Emilie's eyes go wide for a second and Even can see that his sister's close to bursting into loud cheering, but she's trying to act cool, just like Even “Oh at Isak's.”

“Yes.” Even nods, biting down his bottom lip, holding the gaze of his sister.

After a few breaths Emilie rolls her eyes and blurts “Do I really need to worm it out of you. Spill it.”

Even huffs out a laugh and raises his hand in defeat “There's nothing to tell, Ems. I just slept there, nothing happened.”

She narrows her eyes, scanning his face, searching for any indication that he's lying and then she sighs “Really? Nothing.”

“Nope, I just passed out in his bed.” Even shrugs and takes the last sip of his tea.

Emilie's still scanning his face, but she looks up at the screens and sighs as her flight gets called out for boarding “That's my flight.”

Even nods, feeling a lump forming in his throat, saying goodbye to his sister is always hard, although he knows that they'll talk on the phone already tomorrow again, but having her here is just different.

They stand up, both of them fighting back their tears, it's what they always do. Even holds back his tears until she disappears behind the security check point to not make it any harder for her. His little sister hates goodbyes, she hates them to her guts, that's why Even's the only one here with her. He knows that she doesn't want the whole family and Sonja to be here with her because she wouldn't be able to get on that plane, she would stay.

He places a kiss on her cheek before wrapping her in a warm embrace, Emilie sniffles quietly, her voice breaking mid-sentence “I'll miss you, very fucking much.”

He hates saying goodbye to his sister to his guts as well and the selfish part in him wants to tell her to stay, to not get on that plane, but he knows how important this semester abroad is for her.

Even holds her even tighter and whispers through his tears “I'll miss you too, Emi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see, huh? :)) Hello to the one's who are still here and still read my story. I'm sorry it took me forever again, but now the update is finally, finally here :) ❤
> 
> As always I hope you liked the new chapter ❤
> 
> And a big thank you for leaving comments and kudos, it means the world to me and my heart always bursts with joy reading your lovely words ❤ :")
> 
> \----  
> My wonderful, lovely Mir, the one who planted the idea of that story in my mind and inspired me to go for it. One year ago it all started with a simple dm on Instagram and now we're here, we're best friends, soulmates. You're truly and honestly one of the best people I've met throughout my life. You make me laugh, you make me cry, you make me feel it all at once. I love to share my day with you, I love to talk to you about the most ridiculous stuff, I just simply love talking to you, but I also love to hear your opinion, to read what's going on your mind. I hope with every fiber of my body that one day we'll be able to hold each other in our arms, but for now this has to be enough, even though it's hard on most days to have you not around me physically. I love you from the bottom of my heart and I'm just so incredibly happy to have you in my life. YOU ARE AMAZING AND YOU MAKE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY DAYS BRIGHTER, I HOPE YOU KNOW THAT ❤ YOU'RE THE EVEN TO MY ISAK, THE ELIO TO MY OLIVER ❤ JEG ELSKER DEG ❤


	6. You sure you're able to make it back without slipping?

It starts raining the second Even flops down at a free seat right by the window. Heavy drops are hitting the glass and soon the world outside looks a little blur. He curses internally because he’s out without an umbrella, and that means he’ll be soaking wet until he arrives at his apartment.

He makes himself comfortable in the chair nevertheless and tries to enjoy the few minutes he has left in his – or better said Isak’s dry clothes. The train eventually starts moving, making its way back to Central Station. The sound of raindrops hitting the glass is somehow relaxing and Even takes a deep breath as he tries to sink even more into the rather hard cushion.

He feels strangely worn out and not only because of yesterday’s party, it’s a more general feeling, it’s more than just a hangover. But feeling like this is nothing new to Even, though, he’s already familiar with it. This certain feeling washes over him whenever he drops off Emilie at the airport and makes his way back home without her by his side. It’s like his heart is torn in two, he’s happy for her but also sad because she’s no longer around and so far away.

But still today it’s a bit different, his heart feels a little lighter in his chest, a little more content. Today the happiness somehow manages to outweigh the sadness, even if it’s just a bit. And maybe, but just maybe this has something to do with a certain boy with the softest blonde curls.

Even still can’t really believe that he woke up beside Isak this morning, it still feels like it’s only been a dream. A wonderful dream, though. He leans his head against the window, and closes his eyes, thinking about the younger boy. A smile immediately dances on his lips, and he doesn’t care that he might look like a fool sitting here with closed eyes and a bright smile on his lips.

He listens to the world around him, the train's not that packed, but people's voices still remind him of a droning beehive. The chatter of different languages fills the air in the train, and he wonders what brings these people to Oslo. Business, friends, family, vacation?

Even likes to watch people – not in a creepy way, though. And he loves to make up stories for these strangers he’ll probably never see ever again. It helps killing time when he’s waiting for the boys, which happens a lot, oh you have no idea how often that actually happens. It also stirs his creativity to find new scenes and situations to draw. And sometimes it helps him to focus his mind on something else, away from his own sometimes too dark thoughts.

But today he doesn’t watch them, today he only listens to the many languages he doesn’t speak nor even understands in the slightest. Listening to the buzzing of voices and the monotone noises of the train driving along the rails Even dozes off.

His eyes slowly flutter open when the train comes to hold at the last stop. He feels a little dizzy as he stands up, his body seemingly desperate for a longer hangover-nap after last night’s escapades.

People are bustling about the whole station and somehow Even feels a little lost in the crowd of these busy bees today. Usually, he blends in, moves with the flow, but today walking alone along here he somehow doesn't seem to fit. Usually, he gets infected by other people's hurry and light stress and starts moving faster as well, but not today. Maybe he's simply too worn out and tired. But sometimes it's good to not blend in, to move at your own pace and not let yourself get stressed by other people.

It takes him a few minutes longer to get out of the building than the cluster of people who left the train with him. But he recognizes some faces at the tram station. Even smiles to himself, all the hurry didn’t bring them any further after all.

Thankfully it’s only drizzling and not full on raining anymore, so he’ll make it back home without getting soaking wet. The monitor at the station shows that the next tram will arrive in three minutes. Even leans back at the railing and decides to use that time to send a text to Isak.

.

It's unusually quiet in the apartment and Even wonders if the boys went out for lunch or if they're still sleeping. He slips out of his jacket and toes off his shoes, trying not to make too much noise, just in case.

He walks along the hall to the living room and huffs out a quiet chuckle as he sees Mikael and Mutta asleep on the couch. They’re lying there in the weirdest position he’s ever seen, but it still looks kind of cute. The boys are somehow intertwined, and he can barely tell where one begins and the other ends.

Even grabs his phone out of his jeans and snaps a picture before he quietly leaves for his room to not interrupt their probably urgently needed hangover-nap. He sends the picture to the group chat with the words “ _You know the party has been good when…”_

Even lets himself fall face forward in his bed, he doesn’t even bother to get out of his (Isak’s) clothes. He buries his face in his pillow and somehow manages to wrap the thin blue blanket on his bed around his body before he falls back into soft slumber.

.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Mutta smiles brightly at Even as he walks in the kitchen some when in the afternoon.

The other boy’s eyes slowly wander up and down on him, and a half smile’s tugging at the corner of his lips. And Even curses internally. He forgot to switch into his own clothes before leaving his room. He's standing there in Isak's hoodie and Isak's pants, which are a tiny bit too short. And he knows what this looks like. He knows, okay.

“So,” Mutta stresses the word and raises one of his brows. “Where have you been last night?" he asks, now with the most innocent tone in his voice, as if he didn't notice that Even’s not wearing his own clothes.

Even decides to go with the truth, there's no point in lying anyway because he can clearly see in the other boy's face that he knows where he's been. And nothing happened, though. He just fell asleep in Isak's bed. With the other boy in it. That's it. That's all. Well, kind of. Even doesn't have to mention that waking up beside Isak made him realize one thing, a big thing.

“I stayed at Isak’s,” Even holds Mutta's gaze, a confident smile on his face. “Passed out in his bed.” And fuck maybe he could’ve left that detail out. He could’ve said that he crashed on the couch or in the guest bedroom. Even keeps a straight face nevertheless, acting cool as if it wouldn't be a big deal.

“In his bed,” Mutta nods his head slowly, a shit-eating grin on his lips. Even's close to rolling his eyes. “And he even borrowed you some clothes, I see.”

“Yes,” Even’s still desperately trying to act it cool. He opens the fridge to grab out a bottle of water. And he does this because he’s thirsty and not only to have a reason to look away from Mutta’s amused glance.

Even feels his friend’s eyes on him the whole time, Mutta’s waiting for him to add something, anything. But Even just gives him an innocent smile as he looks back at him.

The other boy's grin gets even wider, and he raises one of his brows as he asks “So you found out what Isak’s ‘complicated’ is? Or were your mouths too busy to talk?”

“Huh, what?” Even’s brows shoot up in surprise, and he squeezes the bottle in his hand that much that water spills over his hand and on the floor. “Mutta, I just crashed there. That’s it. Nothing happened. He just lent me some of his clothes because it would’ve been weird to go to the airport in my costume, though.”

“Okay,” Mutta grins, handing him a dishtowel to dry his hands and the wet floor. “If you say so.”

“Mutta, I-” Even sighs and looks back up at his friend. But Mutta has already left the kitchen, shuffling along the hallway, but Even can hear his quiet chuckle.

.

The rest of Even's day mostly consists of slouching on the couch with Mikael and Mutta. Re-watching some random shows on Netflix, and dozing off multiple times while doing so.

Mutta hasn't said or asked anything about last night and neither has Mikael. Even knows that Mikael's probably waiting for a second they're alone to ask or until Even's ready to talk about it on his own. He's the more subtle one of his roommates when it comes to things like this.

Even wakes up from a light slumber as Mutta's phone loudly pings on the couch table. The boy beside him grabs his phone and says with a still raspy voice “Elias asks what we're doing.”

Mutta leans up a bit and runs his other hand through his tousled hair as he looks between Even and Mikael. Mikael is more asleep than awake, he just blinks at Mutta with a confused expression on his face, not really knowing what's actually going on.

“I'm not sure if any of us is actually able to do anything else but chilling on the couch today. They can come over if they want, though,” Even yawns heartily after he spoke his words. He doesn't feel like going out today, yesterday has already been enough, if he's honest it even has been a bit too much.

Even knows he shouldn't smoke or drink all too much, at worst it can fuck up the effect of his medication. And he doesn't want shit to go down the drain again, so it's better to take it chill the next few days and cut down the drinking and smoking on weekends.

Mikael grunts something unintelligible and nods his head before his eyes fall shut again. Mutta and Even look at each other and break out into loud laughter. “Agree, Mik. I tell them to come over, though.”

.

Even would've never thought that all the boys would actually fit on their couch, but with a few adjustments, they actually do. It's not a small couch, but still fitting six guys is a challenge, though.

The rest of the squad seems as drained as them and it stays a rather quiet hang out. Only a few comments or snorts now and then when something funny or stupid happens on screen. They're not even really talking about the party last night, just a few comments about how sick and amazing it has been. And Even is totally okay with it. A little more time before the rest of the squad finds out that he's spent the night in Isak's bed.

The more Even thinks about it the more absurd it gets honestly. He's spent the night in the bed of the boy he's heavily crushing on and nothing besides a bit of cuddling happened and Even's sure that Isak doesn't even remember snuggling up to him in his sleep. And that's okay because Even can't remember a few things either.

.

“Hei,” Even says, trying to hold the phone awkwardly between his ear and his shoulder while he tries to fill a cup with something to drink. This always looks easier when someones else is doing it, though.

“Hei, you guys already back among the living?” Sonja chuckles in his ear.

“Barely,” Even joins her chuckle. “What's up?”

“I was just wondering if you're up for kebab?” the girl asks.

“Sounds amazing, but the pack's barely awake, though,” Even leans against the kitchen counter, holding back a yawn. His stomach starts growling only thinking about the smell of kebab. The only thing the boys ate today have been some snacks and crisps, not really satisfying their hungover-cravings.

Sonja chuckles at the other side of the line “Okay, got it. I'll be there in twenty.”

“You're the best,” Even smiles brightly.

“We been knew,” Sonja chuckles some more before they end the call.

Even walks back in the living room, five pairs of eyes looking at him, some curious, but all still a bit tired.

“Sonja brings us kebab,” he announces and the boys break out into cheering, it's quieter than usual, but Even still can tell that they're all happy they don't have to leave the apartment to grab something decent to eat.

Even flops back down on the couch beside Elias. He checks his phone and realizes that he hasn’t checked it since he went for the nap around midday. He’s got a few messages from his sister and three from Isak. Even almost forgot that he sent him a message before he hurried in the tram to get a seat.

____________________________

**Ems ♥**

I landed safely :)  
Arrived in one piece at my apartment  
Are you asleep?  
Okay you’re asleep  
Loser.. how long does it take to recover for an old man like you?  
Two days? Three?  
Okay Imma stop spamming  
Text me when you’re back among the living  
Love you, loser xx

I landed safely in my bed  
Glad you made it home in one piece  
Receiving spam from you is always a joy, Ems  
(yes I’m ignoring the old man part completely)  
Love you too, little monster ♥  
Take care xx

Oh he’s alive :)

Barely, I’m hanging with the boys

Old men need time to recover, I see  
Say hello from me ♥

Will do ;)

Facetime tomorrow?

Yes :)

♥

♥

____________________________

.

It takes Sonja less than twenty minutes to show up at their apartment with kebab. The boy's greet her all with thankful hugs and kisses on her cheek.

“Jeez, boys I'm taken,” Sonja huffs out a laugh, but that doesn't stop them greeting her that heartily.

Sonja hands out the food “What would you guys do without me, huh?”

“We'd starve. Thank you, mom,” Elias grins at her before he takes a huge bite from his kebab.

Sonja shoots him a glare “Never ever call me that again.”

“Yes ma'am,” the boy mumbles with a full mouth and Sonja only shakes her head, not amused by that either.

Sonja turns to Even and raises one of her brows before her fist meets his shoulder with a light punch.

“Ouch! What was that for?” Even rubs his shoulder although it doesn't even hurt.

“Emi wants you to text back,” Sonja explains her actions, her brow still raised, Even almost huffs out a laugh at her serious expression.

“Already did,” Even pouts instead, taking the kebab from the girl's hand.

“Oops,” Sonja shrugs one shoulder a little, a somewhat apologetic look on her face. “Sorry,” she grins at him before she takes a hearty bite from her kebab and Even does as well.

.

“So, since no one's saying anything, I'll do,” Sonja wipes her mouth with a napkin before she continues “Even, honey, where did you disappear last night? It was like you were fallen from the face of earth.”

The other boy's eyes are studying him with curious glances, although they try their best to hide their curiosity, they're not really succeeding. Elias forgets to chew the bite in his mouth as he looks between Sonja and Even. It's awkward and Even gets a bit uncomfortable being put on display like this. He shifts a little on the couch as he searches for the right words that definitely leave the detail out that he slept in Isak's bed. It's that silent in the room that you could hear a pin drop.

In the corner of his eyes, he sees that Mutta is hiding the small grin on his lips with taking another bite from his kebab. Even wants to roll his eyes at him, can he act even more obvious.

“I crashed at Isak's,” Even eventually says, shrugging his shoulders, trying to act cooler than he did earlier around Mutta in the kitchen. And Even doesn't miss the look Mutta gives him from the side.

“At Isak's?” Elias blurts out before anyone else can say anything, his voice a pitch higher than usual. He sounds more than surprised, more than all the others combined.

“Yes,” Even answers slowly, looking around his friends, studying the expressions on their faces. They all have small knowing smiles on their lips beside Elias. Even doesn't really know what to make out of the boy's reaction.

Even's getting a bit uncomfortable with the heavy silence in the room, so he tries to desperately fill it with words “I was too high to get home. So he let me crash. That's it.” He doesn't know why he feels the need to stress the last two words, but he does.

“It's nice of him to let you crash, though,” Mikael gives his shoulder a gentle squeeze and offers him a soft smile. It's Mikael's way to try to calm him down, to tell him that it's okay, that he doesn't owe them any explanation for anything. And it helps Even to relax a little again.

“Even's like Ariana Grande, though. 'I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it',” Adam huffs out a laugh and earns a smack on the back of his head from Yousef the same second.

“Dude, the fuck?”

“Ouch! Stop smacking my head,” Adam rubs the back of his head “It's her new song, though.”

“I'll stop smacking your head the day you stop blurting out every shit that comes to your mind,” Yousef rolls his eyes and gives Even an apologetic smile.

Even lightly shakes his head, indicating that it's okay, but still, something in him wants to clarify it again. “Nothing happened, though.”

“Ev, no need to explain yourself. You said nothing happened so nothing happened. But you know that half of the University will talk about this, right?” Sonja gently pats his hand.

“But they don't know?” Even knits his eyebrows.

“Well not that, but people saw you at the party together,” Sonja lifts one of her shoulders for a light shrug “And well let me put it like that you seemed to get along pretty damn well.”

“Don't you think people have better shit to do than gossiping about me and Isak?” Even asks even though he already knows the answer's no, but still hoping for some encouraging words from his friends.

The rest of the group looks at him with raised brows, but no one's saying anything. And they don't need to because Even can clearly read it on all of their faces, so much to encouraging words. People will talk about him and Isak. And there's nothing he can do about it, he just hopes they find another topic to talk about pretty soon.

Even's stomach sinks a little, because he still doesn't know what or who Isak's “it's complicated” is. He doesn't want to upset another person, he doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. He makes a mental note to not smoke that much around Isak ever again.

.

Even stares at his phone for minutes, not knowing if he should answer Isak's texts or not. He's asking himself if he should cool down their interactions, he asks himself if he's hurting someone with these actions. He asks himself if Isak would do this to a person he has feelings for even if it's complicated at the moment. So many questions are flooding Even's brain, and he has barely any answers to them.

He locks the screen, lying the phone on his chest and takes a deep breath. He needs to find out about this complicated thing as soon as possible or otherwise the guilt will probably eat him alive.

____________________________

**Thanks for the dance :)**

 

Thank you again for letting me crash, Is  
You’re getting your clothes back asap

No worries :)  
You can keep them, tho  
In return I can keep that fancy shirt you left here ;)

Let me think a night over that offer :)  
See you at Uni, Is

Okay, but it's a good deal, tho ;)  
See you around, Ev  
Night :))

Night :)

____________________________

.

The next two weeks fly by in the blink of an eye. They are a nightmare, to say the least, and Even barely finds time to do anything else besides studying or working on his assignment for one of his courses. To be honest, Even has pretty much underestimated the work he has to put into that assignment. He spent most of his days on campus in the library or any other quiet corner.

With all this work keeping him distracted he hasn't even quite noticed that he hasn't seen Isak in days. They've been texting, a lot actually, but it's been over a week since they actually talked to each other in person. And even that encounter was from short nature because Isak needed to head to a doctor's appointment.

Even thought about prolonging the deadline of his assignment, but the professor's known to be an asshole when it comes to things like that, so Even tries to make the deadline even if it's stressful as fuck and his social life is more than suffering from it.

Even tries to talk himself into believing that it's not _that_ bad. Winter break is around the corner, and that's what keeps Even going on days when he's thinking about giving up and to just shit on it. And maybe Isak's texts and shitty memes help a little too. Okay let's be honest, they don't only help him a little, texting with Isak always brightens Even's days.

No matter how tired and exhausted he collapses in his bed whenever he's got a notification from the other boy he falls asleep with a smile on his lips. Sounds cheesy but it's the truth.

Isak isn't better off, though, he's in the midst of some research for one of his courses and he has to squeeze that in between work at KB and practicing with the football team. But it's good to have someone to complain and whine with. Misery loves company or something like that.

.

Today has been a hard day, Even overslept and missed his first course. It's not that bad, but still, it somehow threw him off track, and he was kind of out of it the rest of the morning.

Around midday when he listens to one of his professor's talking about the old Greek architecture Even decides to cut the studying today and go home instead. Spending time with the boys will help to get his mind off that stupid assignment even if it's just for one afternoon. Just one afternoon without stressing about it, it's what he deserves.

He's probably going to regret this tomorrow or even already today but Even tries his best to ignore that thought for the rest of the day, shoving it somewhere deep in his brain and locking it up there until tomorrow.

Mutta and Mikael look at him as if he's grown a second and third head as he walks in the kitchen and greets them cheerfully.

“What?” Even asks. He looks down on his clothes to check if he spilled some tea earlier and didn't notice.

“We haven't properly seen you in like a week or something,” Mikael smiles.

“Yeah, sorry about that, guys. It's just this fucking assignment. It's really biting my ass,” Even runs a hand through his hair and sighs.

“An assignment,” Mutta raises his brows, grinning like an idiot at Even.

“This time it's really an assignment, though,” Even huffs out a chuckle. “Really.”

“I know, Ev. I was just teasing,” Mutta lightly shakes his head while he laughs and pats Even's shoulder.

Even rolls his eyes, “So what are you up to? Any plans for today?”

“We just wanted to go to Elias' in an hour or something,” Mikael answers. “So if you want you can gladly join. I think the rest of the guys doesn't even remember what your face even looks like.”

“Then it's time that they get to see that mess of a face again, huh?”

.

The hangout at Elias' is chill and the boys are arguing if they should start making Youtube videos again. Elias argues that it has been over three years since the last video they made and it would be fun to surprise the two hundred followers of their channel with a video after all this time.

The other boys aren't that keen on doing so. Adam rolls his eyes and sighs, “I don't think people still care about our channel, you know. And aren't we a bit too old for it?”

“You're never too old, man,” Elias rolls his eyes and looks to the other boys.

“I don't know, man.” Yousef shrugs and the rest does the same.

Elias sighs dramatically and lets himself sink deeper in the cushion of the couch, “You're all such kill-joys.”

.

They end up playing basketball outside, despite the biting cold. Even's wrapped in his coat and one of mama Bakkoush's warm blankets, more watching than actually playing. Besides his height, he can't really contribute anything to the game. Even has a lot of skills, but basketball definitely isn't one of them.

He cheers for Yousef as he's in the act of beating Elias' ass. These two are delivering a good game, as always. Yousef loses the ball to Elias as Sana shows up in the driveway, simply too distracted by her presence to continue the game.

“Hei, guys,” she smiles at all of them but Even doesn't miss that Yousef gets the brightest one.

The boys greet her back in unison “Hei Sana.”

“Sana? Hold on. You forgot your phone,” a voice shouts from behind the hedges. Even recognizes that voice immediately and feels his face heating up in excitement, although he hasn't even seen him yet.

Even hears the door of a car falling shut and feet walking toward the driveway with quick steps, following behind Sana.

“Oh, thank you,” Sana smiles at Isak. “Forgot it, because I just wanted to get the hell out of that car.”

“Sorry, though,” Isak laughs and rubs the back of his neck “She can be a handful.”

“It wasn't about her, you know I adore her. It's more about Chris,” Sana clarifies, giving Isak one of her disapproving looks. Even's heart sinks to his stomach. So Isak is hanging out with Christoffer, okay they're housemates that's normal, right. Totally normal. But why does it still leave such a bitter taste in Even's mouth?

“Hei, guys,” Isak says cheerfully as he notices that he isn't alone out here with Sana. He swallows when he sees Even, but the smile on his lips gets brighter nevertheless.

The boys greet Isak but move on to their chatter rather quickly, but Even can still feel their eyes wandering to him. Even's holding Isak's gaze until Sana awkwardly clears her throat and quietly says “Isak, you should get going. They're waiting for you.”

“Huh? Yeah, you're right,” Isak blinks a few times and hugs Sana goodbye. The girl whispers something to Isak that Even can't hear.

Isak's face looks defeated, and he sighs quietly “I will tell him.”

Isak disappears with a loud “Bye guys.” which the boys counter with a loud “Bye, Isak.”

Even's eyes follow Isak until he's out of sight, he knows he's staring, obvious to everyone, but he doesn't find it in him to really care about it. His brain is more distracted by the fact that Isak's with Christoffer. And once more Even wonders if Isak lied to him as he said that there's nothing between them or if Even's totally misinterpreting things here.

His eyes wander back to Sana, who's giving him a look and a smile he can't quite decipher before she walks in the building.

Even turns his glance back to his friends, they're all still immersed in their conversation or at least their acting as if they are. Only Mikael looks at him, a slight frown on his forehead, he looks as confused as Even feels.

.

____________________________ 

**Thanks for the dance :)**

It was good seeing your face today ;)  
Already forgot what you look like

You too :)  
What? :O  
How can you forget that?  
Tall, handsome, blue eyes,...

You forgot something...

I did? Uhm spectacular hair?

Nope

I'm not gonna type what I have in mind sooo...

OH GOD EVEN

What? You don't know what I wanted to type...

I guess I do  
And no I didn't mean THAT

Okay, so what did I forget then?

“Full of himself”

:D

:D

____________________________

.

Even's eyes are desperately searching for a free seat in the packed library, it seems like a lot of students are stressing over assignments and researches before the winter break starts.

His last hope is his usual spot in the very last and somehow a little dark corner at the far end of the library, far from every kind of possible distraction. He walks up there, giving the people who are frowning and looking rather distressed at him a sympathetic smile.

Even sighs as he sees someone already sitting there, he thinks about leaving and searching for another quiet corner around campus. But when the boy desperately runs a hand through his with a hoodie covered curls looks Even eventually recognizes him. Isak.

Even smiles to himself. A little part of him hoped to meet the other boy here today. Maybe Isak had the same in mind when he walked in here today. Or maybe that's only Even's wishful thinking.

He walks up to the other boy, his whole body suddenly buzzing with excitement, from head to toe. Even still wonders what this boy's actually doing to him. He's been crushing on people before. He knows what it feels like. The butterflies and all that stuff. But with Isak, with Isak, it's all more. It feels like so much more.

And Even would lie if this isn't actually scaring him a bit. He's scared to fall back into old patterns of behavior. Even's not gonna lie, he's rather quick to impress, he's always giving a bit too much. Too much. That's what people called him before. Either they ran from his diagnosis or from him being simply too much.

But still, this here with Isak feels different. Really. He's never felt something like this before. It doesn't feel like too much, it just feels natural. It feels right. And that is what is scaring him even a little more.

“Halla,” he whispers as quiet as he can but still loud enough for the other boy to hear. Isak starts a little, a frown is drawn to his forehead as he looks up, but he smiles as soon as he recognizes Even.

“Hei,” he whispers back. “What are you doing here?”

“Working on my assignment,” Even smiles and sits down on the seat in front of him.

Isak’s smile gets brighter, “Okay.” He doesn’t sound convinced at all.

“What?” Even raises his brows. “You’re not the only one who's got stuff to get done before winter break,” Even grins. He grabs out his laptop and opens it.

Heads turn in their direction, shooting more than annoyed glances at them. A girl two tables away even clicks her tongue to underline her annoyance and mutters under her breath “Idiots.”

Even frowns and shoots her an incredulous glance. What the actual fuck? Some people really have no chill. One whispered sentence, and she's already calling them idiots. That's going to be a fun study session. Even gets that it's more pleasant for everyone here to be quiet, but there is such a thing as overdoing it.

“Sorry,” Even manages to whisper at her direction, but he only earns an eye roll from her. Okay fine, seems like the Bech Næsheim charm doesn't work with everyone.

Even looks back at Isak, the boy rolls his eyes, but grins at him “I think we better stay quiet before her vicious glare actually kills us.”

Even chuckles quietly and makes himself comfortable in his chair “Yeah.”

He pulls the laptop closer and starts reading through the paragraphs he's been working on the past days. He's actually quite content with the outcome, he just corrects a few typos here and there, but overall it seems decent enough to hand in.

In between, he maybe steals one or two glances at Isak sitting right in front of him. Okay, maybe it's more than one or two times.

Even's heart does a flip in his chest when he catches Isak glancing over as well. A shy smile tugs at the corner of the younger boy's lips, and he looks back down at his notes, the smile never leaving his lips.

They're working like that for the next two hours. Stolen glances and shy smiles.

.

Isak's phone starts vibrating on the table. Even nearly falls off his chair because he's been totally immersed in his own written words, he breaths out a quiet “Fuck.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Isak breathes quietly, trying to not attract any more attention. But well the nice girl from earlier already glares at him. This time around her look's even more deadly and Even lightly shakes his head.

Even wants to say something but Isak beats him to it “Stop glaring, I'm as good as gone. So fucking chill.”

He looks at Isak with wide eyes, surprised by the boy's outbreak, but a smile quickly finds its way to his lips.

“Fucking finally,” the girl bites back, leaving Isak and Even staring at her, both with frowns on their foreheads.

“Faen,” Even breaths and starts gathering together his things as well. He's not staying any second longer here. He's not keen on earning more of these glares.

The younger boy raises a brow at him and Even says “I think it's time to leave.”

“Mmh,” Isak hums, making a face at the girl. Thank God, she doesn't seem to notice it.

They walk by the girl and Even can't help but lean down to her a bit and whispers with a blinding smile on his lips just loudly enough for her to hear “Have a nice day, gorgeous.”

They break out into loud laughter as soon as they're out the library, “That was kinda rude, Ev.”

“Excuse me? She was the one being rude as hell. What's her damn problem?” Even lightly shakes his head. “Some people really have a stick up their ass.”

Isak's still laughing as he blurts “Or maybe it's been a while she's got a stick up her ass.”

“Isak!” Even's barks out a laugh. “You can't say things like that.”

“Of course I can, I just shouldn't,” Isak shrugs his shoulders. They laugh. Even has missed the sound of Isak's laughter so much. He missed the way his eyes crinkle, the dimples that appear in his cheeks and the angelic sound of it.

Even stands there and for the glimpse of a second, time seems to stand still. He takes Isak in, the way his face seems to shine when he's laughing or only smiling. It always feels like the sun's rising to Even.

Even snaps himself back out of his trance, he really needs to get a grip of himself when he's around Isak.

Isak doesn't seem to have noticed Even's rather unsubtle stare and if he did notice he doesn't show it. He checks his phone again and his face gets a bit more serious as he sighs “Shit, I gotta go. I'm already late.”

“See you around?” Even asks, and he wishes his voice would sound at least a little less desperate.

“Tomorrow same time?” the smile comes back to Isak's face and Even immediately mirrors it.

“It's a date,” Even says and oh God he wants to punch himself in the face.

But thankfully Isak doesn't mind the wording and nods agreeing “It's a date.”

And maybe Even should not overthink everything that much. Just because he used the phrase “It's a date.” doesn't mean it's a date, right? You say it like that. You do that, right?

.

It's not a date. You actually have to talk to call it a date, though. But talking is impossible since _that_ girl's here again as well today. They can't even whisper single words without her shooting death glares at them.

Medusa. Even and Isak decided to call her like that since she's glaring at literally anyone who dares as much as only breathe too loud for her taste. Yes, Even and Isak aren't her only victims, no one in the library is safe from her vicious glance. They know it's kind of mean to call her Medusa, but well she doesn't know, and they're sure that if she's staring long enough her glare would turn them to stone.

Isak gets worked up on her, and he shoots angry glances back at her. Even watches grumpy Isak with as much endearment as he watches soft Isak. Isak is cute as fuck when he's all grumpy. Sounds weird, but it's just how it is.

Meetings at the library happen regularly the next days. Isak's bringing coffee and tea and Even's bringing small snacks which aren't too loud to eat because Medusa is there every single time.

.

“So there's one thing you still need to tell me,” Even says as he blows out the smoke of the joint Isak just handed him seconds ago. Yes he knows, he said no more smoking weed when he's with Isak, but well here he stands taking another hit before handing it back to Isak.

“Shoot,” Isak says, searching his face curiously.

Even feels stupid asking that, but he needs to know, it's been in the back of his mind since the morning he woke up in Isak's bed weeks ago. He can't believe it already have been weeks.

“I know this might sound stupid, but I really can't remember, though. But how did I land in your bed at the Halloween party?” Even chuckles awkwardly, trying to overplay his nervousness.

“I'm not surprised you don't remember,” Isak huffs out a light laugh. “You were high as fuck.” And yeah Isak's right, he really smoked too much that night, although he knows he shouldn't.

“We smoked another few with Jonas and the guys after the dancing and well we were all kinda high out of our minds. I didn't want you to leave the house like that, so I led you up to lay you down in the guest room, but you insisted on sleeping in my bed.” Isak shrugs and Even feels the blush of embarrassment creeping up his neck.

“Jesus,” he sighs, scratching the back of his neck. “Sorry about that.”

“No worries,” Isak smiles at him. “You were so cute. I just couldn’t say no, though.” And Isak says it like it's the most normal thing in the world. As if it wouldn't turn Even into a blushing mess. As if it wouldn't make Even's heart stutter in his chest.

It takes Even a second to respond to Isak's words “I'm still sorry, though.”

“There's no need to Ev, really,” Isak gives him a bright smile “It was nice waking up next to you.”

And Isak's bluntness catches Even totally off guard, he keeps staring at the other boy. Something in him is kinda waiting for Isak to turn this into a joke, last minute. But Isak doesn't, he just smiles at Even and there's a glimmer in his eyes.

Even knows his next question will kill the moment, it'll totally kill the moment, but he needs to know. Isak can't keep saying shit like that to him while Even still doesn't know what the complicated thing is that Isak talked about in the interview.

“So you're usually waking up alone?” Even knows he could've worded his question better, but somehow his brain doesn't seem to function that well with Isak smiling at him like that.

Isak's smile turns into a half grin, and he licks his lips. He knows pretty well what Even's referring to. “Not necessarily, though. But it's been a while since I woke up beside a handsome guy.”

“Oh,” Even thinks a second about his next words “So there's no one?”

“No, there's no one,” Isak lightly shakes his head. There's a short flicker of something Even can't quite decipher on Isak's face.

“But you said it's complicated in the interview.”

“That doesn't necessarily mean I'm seeing someone,” Isak shrugs his shoulders “Look, I said it because I kind of have a lot of shit going on. And I don't really have time for dating random guys and all that shit. I'm trying to focus on other things at the moment.” There's still a smile on Isak's lips as his eyes roam Even's face, waiting for his reaction.

“So you only said it to keep away the horny creeps from campus?” Even mirrors his smile.

“Kind of. But it seems it didn't work with everyone, though, I mean you're still around,” Isak huffs out a laugh, breaking the light tension in the cold air.

“Oh, fuck you,” Even shoves the boy's shoulder but joins his laughter.

.

“What's up with that smile?” Mikael asks as he joins Even on the couch.

“What smile?” Even asks, trying to play dumb to tease his friend.

Mikael only gives him a look and raises one of his brows, not paying any of it “Dude, quit playing. Spill it.”

“Sometimes it's not fun that we know each other that well,” Even sighs. Mikael agrees with a nod “I agree, but don't try to change the topic.”

“Jeez, fine,” Even chuckles and leans up a bit, making him comfortable in an upright position on the couch. “You know that I've been studying with Isak in the library a lot these past weeks, right?”

"Yeah, your so-called library dates," Mikael gives him a smile. "Did you finally ask him for a proper date? Did he ask you?" Mikael leans a bit closer, suddenly seeming pretty excited about what Even wants to tell him.

“No,” Even lightly shakes his head and for a split-second, Mikael looks a bit disappointed.

“So what happened then? Will you finally tell me,” Mikael says impatiently.

“Jeez, since when are you so excited about my love life?” Even chuckles, but he stops as soon as he sees the look on Mikael's face. “Nevermind, uhm I actually found out what Isak's 'it's complicated' is.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, he only said it because he didn't want to deal with horny creeps from University. He doesn't see someone, he's free as a bird so to say. He's just busy with work, studying, football and stuff, so he doesn't really have time for dating and all that crap.”

“I fucking knew it. I knew that there's no one. I saw the way he's looking at you,” Mikael almost screams in excitement. He lunges forward and wraps Even in a stormy hug, Even catches him and hugs him back. Even huffs out a laugh, he didn't know his best friend is that invested in his story with Isak.

As Mikael lets go of him, he says “You gotta show that boy that you're totally worth a shot, man. I know he said he hasn't time for dating and that stuff, but he's gotta make time for you.”

And this time Even hugs Mikael, because he's the best best friend someone could wish for.

.

Even wakes up in the morning and as soon as he looks out the window he decides that he won't leave his apartment to go to University today. It's snowing thick flakes from the sky. It's beautiful, it really is, but only if you don't have to deal with traffic on a day like this. So Even decides to stay at home today and not throw himself out in that chaos. He can perfectly work at home on the last bits of his assignment.

He makes himself a big mug of cocoa, it's what his mother used to do when he and Emilie still were kids. Whenever it snowed outside their mother was waiting with a big, hot mug of cocoa at home.

“I'm so skipping Uni today. Wild horses wouldn't drag me out there, today,” Mutta says while he walks in the kitchen, a soft blanket from the couch wrapped around his body.

“Wise decision, I'm skipping as well. I'm not keen on dealing with the chaos out there. You want some cocoa?” Even asks.

"What's that even for a question. Of course, I want cocoa.” Mutta lightly shakes his head as if he can't believe that Even even asks that question.

Mutta hops on the counter although he's way too tall for it and watches Even preparing the cocoa. His feet are dangling in the air and the way he sits there doesn't look comfortable not even in the slightest, but Even doesn't comment on it.

“So are going to ask Isak out on a date?” Mutta tilts his head a little aside, his eyes taking in Even's face.

“I don't know. He said he hasn't got time for stuff like that,” Even shrugs. He's thought about that a lot to be honest. Even doesn't know if he should actually ask Isak despite what he said or if he should go on like this until Isak eventually asks him for a date.

He's afraid that Isak would say no to a date and refer to what he said when Even asked about his complicated thingy. Or what would probably be worse if Isak would say yes to a date out of pity and tell Even afterwards that it isn't going to work, kind of letting him fall gently. But on the other hand, Even fears that Isak won't ever ask him for a date. Yeah, it's a mess and Even doesn't quite know how to handle it.

Mutta smiles at him and says, “But he's got time studying with you in the library, though.”

“That's something different,” Even says, looking down at the milk on the stove and steering it so it won't burn.

“If you say so. But well I mean he could've studied at home as well,”

“I could've studied at home as well-”

“But you went to the library because Isak was there. Don't deny it,” Mutta interrupts Even's words.

Even looks at his friend and sighs “Yeah maybe, but that doesn't mean he did the same.”

“Even, I love you, man. But when it comes to stuff like that you're sometimes a bit slow-witted,” Mutta looks at him a sympathetic smile on his lips.

“I'm not slow-witted, I'm just-” Even looks away from Mutta.

“Hesitating,” Mutta finishes the sentence for him. His friend's voice sounds more gentle now, realizing he might have overstepped with his slow-witted comment. Even knew that he didn't mean it in a mean way, but it still stung a bit.

“Yeah,” Even nods his head. “I just don't want it to get too much again,” he confesses and Mutta's face softens.

“Then take all the time in the world to figure things out,” Mutta says, gently putting a hand on his shoulder and giving it a light squeeze.

.

It stops snowing early in the afternoon. Even has proof-read his assignment for what feels like the thousandth time, and he needs a break. He decides to go outside for a walk to enjoy the beautiful sight of Oslo dipped in snow.

He grabs one of his thick woolen sweaters from his dresser and throws it on. When he's going out there he's got to be prepared for the cold.

Even peeks his head in the living room and asks the boys if they want to join him. All he earns are incredulous looks and a loud “No!” as a response from his friends.

So Even walks around the city alone, the streets are still covered in a menial layer of snow and Even still doesn't regret his decision he didn't put up with the chaos in the morning. He could've walked to the University, but walking roughly 20 minutes when it's heavily snowing would've left him with semi-wet clothes and spending a day in semi-wet socks and trousers isn't actually something Even enjoys.

Walking around now is something he enjoys, the snow somehow brought a certain silence to the city. It seems quieter and peaceful than usual, but that's probably because most people aren't leaving their homes if they don't have to.

Even ends up taking the tram to Sognsvann, because he loves lakes more in winter than he does in summer. Somehow they're more idyllic and calming when they're covered with a thick layer of ice and snow surrounding them. And they're always a good inspiration for his drawings.

He wanders along the path around the lake, his scarf tightly wrapped around his neck, his gloved hands buried in the pockets of his thick coat. Even feels warm and cozy today, although it's freezing cold out here.

Even watches people skating along the ice, little kids with their parents, but also couples and people, who seemingly do to their first steps on the ice. Even stops in his tracks to take in the scenery, to take in that perfect picture winter idyll. He takes his eyes from the frozen lake and the people on it as he hears the laughter of a little girl. His eyes following that sound somehow instinctively.

At the edge of the lake, is a tall man with a little girl crouching in the snow, they're in the midst of building a snowman. They seem to have the time of their lives down there, they laugh loudly and in between forming the snowman they throw snowballs at each other.

The little girl's laugh is so pure that it warms Even's heart, and he can't help but smile to himself. Sometimes he envies kids and the pureness and simplicity of their happiness. It doesn't take much to be happy as a kid, sometimes Even misses these lighthearted days.

Even watches the two for a little while longer, he knows that it might be weird, but he can't help and watch their moment of pure happiness. The man chases the little girl and when he catches her he picks her up and whirls her around a few times. And it's only then that Even realizes that he actually knows that laugh.

Isak? Is that Isak?

Even's eyes wander back to the frozen lake, looking around if he finds a familiar face, some of Isak's friends, but he doesn't. But when the loud laugh rings through the cold air again, Even's sure that it's him.

Even blinks a few times before he looks back to the two of them. Now Even gets it, now Even gets why Isak said he doesn't have time for dating and shit. He takes care of his little sister beside University, the football team and his job at KB.

A little part of him wants to go to them and say hello, meeting the little girl who's making Isak laugh that way. But he feels like it would be weird to intrude their moment like that. He doesn't want to disturb the two of them when they're clearly having a great time. So Even decides to leave them alone and continues his walk around the lake. And while he walks he can't stop smiling.

.

Even's slouching on the couch only half listening to his friends talking about the movie that's currently playing on TV.

He's staring at his phone, trying to find the right words to text Isak. He knows it's ridiculous because the last days he hasn't really thought what he was texting the other boy, he just texted what randomly came to his mind and so did the other boy.

But now he's been frowning at the screen and the blank space for good five minutes. Even doesn't know if he should tell Isak that he saw him today, probably it's better to mention that in person, it would come off less creepy, though.

“You having a staring contest with your phone?” Mikael asks and nudges his thigh with his foot.

Even tears his eyes from the screen and looks at his friend “Something like that, yes.”

“Okay,” Mikael says, Even can hear in his voice that he's waiting for an explanation, but when Even doesn't go on, Mikael lets it slide as well, giving him privacy.

Even unlocks his screen again, the blank space still there as if he's mocking him. He closes the messenger app, frustrated.

And in this desperate moment Even decides to check if Isak has any social media, usually, he despises to be on these. He deleted his accounts on Facebook and Instagram when the incident at Bakka happened. But everything in him is desperate to see a glimpse of Isak, and he knows how pathetic that sounds, okay.

Even quickly creates an Instagram account and checks for Isak's name. He finds him after three times of clicking on a wrong profile.

There's a post from today and Even's tempted to like the picture, but he doesn't because that would be too much. He scrolls through Isak's profile, and he frowns because there's actually a lot of Christoffer's face over the boys feed. But Even tries to hold on Isak's words that there's nothing going on between them, that they're just housemates.

Even's smile comes back to his lips as he finds more pictures of Isak's little sister and the ones with Christoffer are quickly forgotten. The pictures don't show her face but Even understands that Isak doesn't want to share this with the whole world. Even clicks on a video of the two and even though there's no sound he can hear the little girl's laugh in his ears.

Even scrolls down to the older photos, they must be from Isak's time at Nissen. Even's smile gets brighter with every picture he sees of small Isak, but he frowns and stares at a picture with Isak and a girl. The caption says “We look happy, don't we?” and Even asks himself if this girl has been the other boy's girlfriend at some point. It does look like it, but well Even interpreted Eva and Isak's relationship wrongly at first too.

Even keeps staring at Isak's pictures for a few minutes longer, his cheeks already hurting from smiling so much. Even feels the eyes of his friends on him, he knows that they're glancing at him, but he ignores them, too occupied with staring at Isak's pics.

He plays the video of Isak and his little sister one last time before he puts his phone away and focuses on the TV again. In the corner of his eyes, he can see that Mikael and Mutta exchanging looks and smiling dumbly at each other.  
.

Even's sitting cross-legged on a low windowsill and his fingers are working on a new drawing, it feels good to move his fingers over the paper again, it has been a while. During the past stressful weeks before winter break Even didn't have much time to draw, but since his assignment is finally done and handed in he finally got time to draw again.

He's waiting here for the boys, their last lesson ends in about ten minutes, and they're appointed to grab kebab after University and talk about their plans for the weekend.

“Hei,” a cheerful voice says and someones sitting down beside Even on the windowsill.

“Halla,” Even looks up from his drawing to meet a smiling Isak. He puts away the drawing from his lap and gives his whole attention to the other boy.

“I was hoping to find you around here. You weren't at the library.”

“Yeah I'm finally done with the assignment and I think the library won't see me until next year.” Even chuckles. “So, what's up?”

“I wanted to ask you if you've already got plans for tonight?” Isak asks, his cheeks turning impalpable a shade pinker.

“Honestly I don't really know, since I haven't talked to the boys yet,” Even answers honestly.

“Oh,” Isak says and bites down his bottom lip, he seems a bit nervous, so Even says “Why do ask? Is there another party going on at yours?”

“No,” Isak huffs out a quiet chuckle, thankful that Even said something. “Eva wants to make a movie night and I wanted to invite you.”

“A movie night with your housemates?” Even smiles and tries not to sound too eager.

“Chris won't be there, don't worry,” Isak immediately says with a grin.

“That's not what I asked, but good to know,” Even mirrors his grin.

“So you'll come?” Isak raises one of his brows, nervously chewing on his inner cheek.

“Sure. I'll come,” Even nods.

“Cool,” a wide smile lights up Isak's whole face. “I'll text you the time and stuff, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Even says because he can't manage to say anything else, too overwhelmed by Isak's smile.

“See you later then,” Isak waves him goodbye as he leaves.

“See you later.” Even waves back and as Isak's around the corner he smiles to himself like the love-drunk idiot he is.

.

“So you're having a movie date with Isak?” Elias takes a bite from his kebab, a brow raised.

“And his housemates,” Even clarifies.

“But still he invited you, though,” Mikael smiles with stuffed cheeks and sauce on his lips. Even lightly shakes his head and laughs. “He did, yes.”

“So it's still a date-date,” Elias says, shrugging with one of his shoulders.

“I don't know, though. I don't wanna get too eager about this, boys. We're friends, kind of.” Even shrugs and looks down at the kebab in his hands.

“You can still figure out after tonight, Ev. Just go there and find out if it's just a hang out among friends or if Isak had a bit more in mind.” Mutta says and shoots glances around the table, probably to shut the other boys up and move on to another topic. And Even is thankful for it. He's excited about this hangout tonight, he really is, more than excited, but he just doesn't want to get too excited and end up disappointed, simple self-preservation.

.

Even presses the doorbell at around 6:40, he knows he's twenty minutes early, but he couldn't walk around another fifteen minutes, though. Whenever he's a bit nervous he tends to leave his apartment too early. He hopes it's okay for Isak that he's early and it doesn't seem too weird to the other boy.

“Oh, hei,” Isak says as he opens the door. “I hoped you'd show up a little earlier.”

“Hei,” Even's worries are washed away with Isak's words, and he steps in the house. He shrugs off his jacket and slips out his shoes.

“This gives me a little time to prepare you for my housemates a bit. I know you've already met them, but that was at a party and this is going to be different,” Isak sighs quietly. He indicates Even to follow him in the kitchen and Even does. “They're probably gonna ask you a lot of things. Oh, and be patient with Magnus, he can be pretty, hmm how do I put it,” Isak thinks for a second.

“He tends to ask really stupid questions, but he never means it in a bad way, though,” a voice ends Isak sentence and Even starts a little as he sees Christoffer leaning against the kitchen counter, taking a sip from a water bottle.

“Exactly,” Isak nods and gives Even an encouraging smile. Even takes a deep breath and tries to be subtle doing so, he tries to keep the smile on his lips.

“Hei, Even,” Christoffer's face breaks out into a blinding smile and Even swallows, he's a little taken aback. He doesn't know why this boy's smile is still so unnerving and why he still gets irritated by it. It's been months since the incident with Aleksander. It shouldn't affect him that much anymore.

“Halla Chris,” Even manages after a few seconds.

Isak seems to notice the weird tension, he awkwardly clears his throat and says, “Chris, didn't you want to leave like half an hour ago?”

“Peter can wait for me, though,” Chris says with a shit-eating grin and Isak rolls his eyes. "I'm gonna make it up to him later."

“Eww, for fuck's sake, man, no one needs to hear that shit. I'm fine without these images in my head,” Isak fakes a gagging sound and Even can't help himself and huffs out a laugh.

He earns an indefinable look from Christoffer and his laughter dies almost immediately in his throat, but he manages to make it not too obvious.

“As if you wouldn't dream about it at night,” Christoffer winks at Isak and Isak knits his brows.

“Yeah, when I'm having nightmares,” Isak says unimpressed by the boy's attempts to flirt. And Even asks himself if Isak's really that oblivious or if he's effectively ignoring his housemate's more than obvious attempts to flirt with him.

“Ouch. Why are you always breaking my heart?” Christoffer clenches his hand over his heart dramatically.

“As if you would have one,” Isak says coolly, raising one of his brows. “Now get your fucking ass to Peter.”

“Aye, aye captain,” the boy nods and leaves the kitchen, but not without giving Even another one of his indefinable glances.

“Sorry about that, he can be such a pain in the ass,” Isak rolls his eyes and sighs. “You want something to drink? A beer?”

“Yes and yes,” Even manages a smile, a genuine one this time. He starts relaxing again now that Christoffer has left the kitchen, and they're alone.

Isak opens the fridge and grabs out two bottles of beer, he hands on Even and they clink them together.

“So you tried to warn me about your housemates,” Even says before he takes a sip from his beer.

“Oh yes, you heard about Magnus. Eva's a bit and with a bit, I mean a lot, nosy. She will probably ask you a lot of question, I'm apologizing in advance, though. Noora will join us as well, she's her girlfriend, I don't know if you remember.”

“I remember that part, yes,” Even says and lightly chuckles “I haven't forgotten everything, though.”

“Good,” Isak smiles. “You don't need to fear Noora, she's the quiet one of the two, and she's chill. Sometimes she seems a bit stuck up, but if you know her she's a real sweetheart. And I'm not only saying this because she's my best friend's girlfriend.”

“Is there anything else to know?” Even asks with a grin on his lips.

“Hmm no the rest you've got to find out yourself,” Isak mirrors his grin before he takes a sip from his beer.

Isak hands Even a bottle of red wine and two glasses, he grabs another beer bottle and leads Even out the kitchen to the living room.

They place the bottles on the couch table and makes themselves comfortable on the couch.

Isak looks at Even and suddenly says out of the blue “Someday you gotta tell me what happened between you and Chris. You're kind of weird around each other.”

“What do you mean?“ Even asks, playing dumb.

“I don't know there's kind of tension between you guys.” Isak shrugs. “Did you guys hook up or something? Oh you know what never mind I don't wanna know.” Isak grimaces and lightly shakes his head.

“Oh God no, we didn't hook up or whatever. Eww, Isak,” Even huffs out a laugh. “It's something different. I'll tell you another time. I hope that's alright.” Even says. He doesn't want to talk about Aleks or what happened back then right now.

“Okay,“ Isak nods. His eyes roam Even's face for another few seconds and he bites down his bottom lip.

Even nudges his shoulder with Isak and says “And don't you think he would've told you if he had hooked up with me? I'd say Chris is the type to brag with his hookups. And I'm quite a catch.“

“You're an idiot, you know that?“ Isak huffs out a laugh and lightly shakes his head.

“You've told me before, yes,“ Even chimes in the laughter.

.

Isak tells Even about the progress of his researches and Even listens carefully to everything Isak says. It's fascinating how Isak's face lights up when he talks about topics that interest him and that are important to him. And when Isak tells Even that he's been a grumpy, unhappy and rather rude teenager, not really interested in anything but playing Fifa and hanging out with his friends Even can't really believe him.

“What changed?” Even asks, leaning his head on his hand, studying Isak's face. Although he might have an idea of what changed. Even still hears the little girl's laughter in his ears.

“A lot changed,” Isak huffs out, lightly shaking his head and a fond smile on his lips. “I was kinda living a fake life and now it feels like so real and I wouldn't trade it for anything even though it stresses the fuck out of me sometimes.”

“Does a little girl have something to do with it?” Even asks with a smile and Isak's face looks rather surprised for a second, so Even explains “I saw you two at Sognsvann the other day.”

Isak shifts in his seat and takes a sip from his beer “You saw us? Why didn't you say hello? Too busy with admiring me from afar?” Isak jokes but Even still can hear a kind of uncertainty in his voice and Even asks himself is he maybe overstepped a line with mentioning the little girl.

“I didn't mean to interrupt the fun you had with your little sister,” Even explains. “What's her name?”

Isak blinks a few times, he looks pretty surprised about Even's word, it takes a few seconds before he eventually answers “Lea. Her name's Lea.”

“That's a beautiful name,” Even smiles. But he somehow feels bad for blurting it out, Isak doesn't really seem to want to talk about the little girl. “I'm sorry, I didn't want to pry, though.”

“It's okay,” Isak says, a smile finally finding his way back to his lips. “I-”

“Hei guys,” Eva's voice loudly cheers through the house.

“In the living room,” Isak shouts back, shooting Even an apologetic glance.

Eva and Noora greet Isak with a hug, and they don't hesitate to wrap Even in one too, it's nice and Even immediately feels comfortable around them. Eva gives him a warm smile as they let go of each other and Noora does the same.

“Is Magnus still out? He said he'd be home before us,” Noora asks, her eyes on Isak.

“He texted me earlier that he'll bring some food. So I guess he got hung up on what to take again,” Isak grins at her and Noora huffs out a chuckle. “Sounds like Magnus.”

Eva and Noora sit down on the couch beside each other and Even is immediately fascinated by the delicacy of their relationship. Nothing about their actions is aggressively screaming that they're in love but when you look closer you can see the subtle but yet so gentle touches. The soft smiles that are reserved for only the other, the tender glances when the look at each other. In Even's eyes they're a wonderful couple.

He listens to them talking about Noora's journalistic studies and Eva's struggle to find something that truly fulfills her. Noora seems to be more than supportive of her girlfriend trying to find her path, she smiles at her words like she couldn't be prouder of her.

They're having a nice conversation and Even wonders if the Eva's holding back with her questions or if Isak just exaggerated a bit when he told him earlier that she was rather nosy.

The front door opens about twenty minutes later again as Magnus eventually comes home. He walks in the living room, greeting them all with a smiley “Halla.”

Even notices that Magnus seems to be a bit nervous about his presence. He wonders if it's because the boy remembers the incident with Alexsander or if it's because of another reason. But despite his nervousness he seems like a really kind and warm guy.

Magnus and Isak end up arguing with each other pretty often. Isak's getting grumpy quite quickly with the other boy, especially when Magnus blurts out his thoughts without thinking twice. The girls don't even blink an eye at their discussions, seemingly more than used to it by now, Even watches them quite amused.

“So you're gay too?” he blurts and takes a bite from his slice of pizza.

“Jesus.” Isak shoots Magnus a glare before he rolls his eyes “You can't walk around and ask people about their sexuality, Mags.”

“I'm just curious. Because everyone in this room is kinda gay, though,” Magnus blurts. Isak gives him another look and Magnus sighs “Just saying.”

“It's okay, Mags,” Even offers him a soft smile. “I'm pan, you know.”

Magnus' face lights up again, obviously thankful that Even answered his question despite Isak's complaint.

“Oh, that's when you like both, right?” Magnus asks with genuine curiosity.

“Mags, why do I even send you links and stuff when you don't check them out after all?" Noora chuckles quietly, but still a gentle smile on her lips, there's no hint of accusation in her voice.

“I do, I swear. It's just a bit confusing.” Magnus rubs the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed.

“That's okay, you don't have to figure it out in one day. Pan is when you like people regardless their gender.” Even offers, earning thankful smile from the rest of the group.

Magnus thinks about Even's words a little before he says. “Oh, and bi is when you like two or more. Like Eva.”

“Yes,” Eva nods, a smile on her lips.

“I think I got it now. Thanks, Ev.” Magnus gives him the brightest smile and Even mirrors it.

.

“So what movies did you guys think of?” Isak asks as he comes back from the kitchen with three new beer bottles in his hands. His eyes are on Eva and Noora, apparently, it's their turn to choose the movies for tonight. Even looks from Isak to the girls, ready to hear their suggestions and deep down hoping they won't end up watching a crappy action movie, he has hopes in the girls, though.

Noora smiles, her eyes wandering to her girlfriend's side profile, Eva smiles at her before she looks back to Isak and says “What about 'Romeo and Juliet'? Or 'Mean Girls'? Or 'Up'?” she gives Isak an amused grin as the boy rolls his eyes.

“How original, Eva,” huffs out sarcastically at the fact that she just listed the movies of their Halloween costumes.

“Shut up, these are good movies,” Eva stretches out her tongue. Noora beside her grins and lightly shakes her head, visibly adoring the other girl.

“Let's watch 'Up', I haven't seen that movie in like forever,” Magnus says enthusiastically. “Everyone okay with it?” He doesn't wait for an answer, though, he searches the movie on Netflix and waits for everyone to get comfortable on the couch before he presses play.

Even leans back in the cushion, his thigh lightly pressing against Isak's, the other boy doesn't move away so Even assumes it's okay. They share the bigger length of the couch with Magnus, Noora and Eva are lying cuddled up on the small length.

Even's eyes are getting teary within the first five minutes, the sequence of Ellie's and Carl's love story always gets to him. He slowly turns his head as he hears Isak quietly sniffling beside him. The boy is wiping the end of his sleeve over his eyes, trying his best to be not too obvious about it. Isak notices Even's glance and turns his head slightly to look him in the eyes.

“That shit's so sad,” Isak mouths quietly and Even nods, giving him a smile which Isak mirrors. His eyes still shining from the tears he's just spilled.

Isak's eyes wander to Eva and Noora and Even follows his eyes. Noora gently wipes away the tears that rolled down Eva's cheeks and places a kiss on her temple. Their interactions are soft and delicate as if they're afraid they'd break the other if they'd touch too hard. They're so subtle with their love, but you can still feel it through and through. All their small gestures, the little smiles they share, the kisses on their cheeks, foreheads, and temples, their intertwined fingers.

Even averts his gaze, his heart warm in his chest, but still feeling an ounce of envy. He looks back at Isak. The other boy gives him a small smile, and there's something undefinable in his eyes, but maybe it's only because of the poor lighting and Even's only imagining it.

.

The movie is over earlier than Even wants it to be, he hopes that the others are up for another one.

“What comes next?” Eva looks at Magnus with a smile.

“I thought about 'Call me by your name'. We talked about watching it already a thousand times, so let's finally do it,” Magnus leans a bit forward to look at all of them while speaking.

“Let's get it started then,” Noora nods in agreement.

Magnus leans back in the cushion, scooting a bit closer to Isak to lean his head on his shoulder, for a second Isak frowns but it disappears as quickly as it came. He leans deeper in the cushion too and offers his friend the comfort and physical contact he obviously needs. Even remembers Sonja telling him that Magnus and his girlfriend broke up a few weeks ago, and he smiles to himself that despite Isak's seemingly constant annoyance with the other boy he still has a warm spot for him.

Even leans back and enjoys the scenery of the movie, that movie is an aesthetically blessing and yeah Even knows that he's a pretentious ass when it comes to things like that.

In the midst of the movie, he shifts a bit to find another comfortable position, as he does his fingers lightly brush against Isak's. Even swallows hard, how can that small touch of skin on skin be this electrifying, how can such a small touch leave such an impact? Even wants to pull away, but the second he thinks about it, Isak's fingers curl around his, and intertwines them.

Even feels his face heating up from the surprise of the sudden touch, and he swallows the gasp that forms in his throat. He tries to keep his breath even and at a normal pace. He only realizes that his body went tense at the touch when Isak gives his fingers a hardly noticeable squeeze.

Even looks down at their intertwined fingers and then in Isak's face. The boy has a frown on his forehead and Even wants to reach out and even the wrinkles between his brows, but he's not able to move his muscles to do that. Instead, he smiles at Isak, indicating that it's okay, that it's more than okay, and he eventually manages to squeeze back.

Isak's frown disappears with that, he mirrors Even's smile, the flash of nervousness completely gone from his expression. Even brushes his thumb over the back of Isak's hand before he looks back at the screen.

Their fingers stay intertwined for the rest of the movie and Even draws small circles on the back of Isak's hand absentmindedly. They only break apart when Isak reaches up to his eye to wipe away the tears rolling down his cheeks, but his fingers immediately find their way back into Even's.

.

All five of them are sobbing messes at the end of the movie, Isak sniffles and says with a hoarse voice “What the fuck?”

“Holy shit, it's been a while since I bawled my eyes out like that,” Eva says while running her fingers over her eyes to wipe away the last traces of her tears. Noora beside her does the same while nodding her head and breathing out a quiet “Wow.”

“The end was shit, though,” Isak says leaning back into the cushion and shrugging his arms in front of his chest.

“Huh, why?” Magnus turns a little to face Isak. “I think it was perfect.”

“But they didn't end up together. What kind of bullshit is this?” Isak scoffs, his voice filled with genuine offense and Even needs to hide the grin on his lips.

He clears his throat and says “Not every love story can have a happy ending, Is.”

“See,” Magnus says, looking at Isak as if he can't believe that he's still not convinced that the ending might be the right ending for the movie.

“I know that, but they deserved a happy ending,” Isak says with a shrug.

“Doesn't everyone deserve that, Issy?” Eva's smile is small but still comforting.

“No,” Isak simply says and Eva rolls her eyes. It seems like the girl has already had enough discussion with the boy to know when it's hopeless to try to convince him otherwise. But Even, though, Even loves a little challenge.

He turns to fully face Isak and asks “Would the movie have the same impact on you if it had a happy ending?”

Isak blinks a few times, thinking about Even's question and eventually sighs, “No it probably wouldn't.”

“See that's why it ends this way. Not every love story can have a happy ending. Most of them end tragic and some end before they even really begin.”

“Most of them, but not all,” Isak retorts and then adds with a shrug, “Still think it should've ended differently.”

Even huffs out a laugh, but then he thinks for a second before he speaks again “Their story isn't over yet, maybe they'll end up together one day.”

“They better do, though,” Isak smiles.

.

Even helps to free the table from the empty bottles at around midnight, Eva and Noora hug him goodbye before they head upstairs to Eva's bedroom. Magnus is still slouching on the couch when they make their way back to the living room. He looks at Isak and Isak seems to know immediately what the other boy wants to say without even speaking it out.

“Start the console, I'll be back in a few and you better get ready to get your ass beaten,” Isak says and Magnus returns with a grin “Yes, sir.”

Isak leads Even out the living room and says “I'm gonna walk with you to the station, it's a bit too cold and icy to take the bike, though.”

“Okay,” is all Even says. Even thinks about telling Isak to stay here with Magnus, but a selfish part of him wants him to go with him because he's not ready to say goodbye yet.

“Be right back.” Isak calls out to the living room and Magnus shouts back a loud “'Kay, Is.”

.

The streets of Oslo are slippery tonight, Even's used to it by now, since he's lived his whole life here, but sometimes even he struggles to not fall. Isak beside him seems as concentrated as him. The first few meters are silent between them. It's silent until their feet are secure enough on the icy ground, and they can focus their glance on something else than the ground.

“He's still heartbroken,” Isak eventually breaks the silence. “Vilde and he broke up weeks ago, but he's still barely himself.” there's something sad in Isak's voice.

“He'll be fine, eventually, Is. He's got you guys and you seem to take care of him pretty well,” Even speaks to comfort.

“You think so? Sometime I may be a bit too harsh,” Isak bites down his bottom lip.

“I think you're a good friend, Is. I mean would Magnus lean on you otherwise? You gave him comfort without even asking,” Even stops in his tracks to look at the other boy.

“You noticed?” Isak says with a light blush on his cheeks.

“Yeah,” Even nods. “I bet Magnus knows that you actually love him and care about him.”

“Maybe I should show him more often, though,” Isak says, his brows slightly knitted.

“Mmh,” Even hums in agreement and they start walking again with cautious steps.

Isak still manages to almost slip and he laughs, “I think I'll never get used to that stupid ice. Every winter I feel a bit like Bambi did on that frozen lake.”

Even huffs out a laugh, Isak grabs Even's elbow because he almost slips again. “You gotta learn to control your long Bambi-legs then, Is. You seem pretty fine on the field, though.”

“Bambi-legs, for real? Those aren't Bambi-legs,” Isak scoffs, played offended. “You're the one to judge, daddy long legs.”

“Excuse me what?” Even almost chokes on his own spit and looks at the other boy with highly raised brows.

Isak grins innocently, but there's a light blush on his cheeks nevertheless “Your legs are long, like really fucking long. Like these spiders, you know.” The words are more stumbling out of his mouth and Even can see that he's slightly embarrassed that this thought actually made it over his lips.

“Daddy long legs,” Even muses. “Sounds a bit kinky, doesn't it?“

“No- What? That's how they're called,” Isak huffs and blushes even more.

“Are these your favorite animals Isak? Daddy long legs?” Even stresses these three words to tease the other boy even more.

“Shut up, you're the worst. You know that?” Isak rolls his eyes again.

Even huffs out a loud laugh, and Isak can't other but join him. They laugh until they reach the tram station. And no Isak doesn't almost slip another three times getting there.

It's only a matter of minutes until Even has to say goodbye to the boy, who’s lightly shivering beside him. He turns toward him and smiles, “You sure you're able to make it back without slipping?”

“Think so,” Isak smiles at him and it's a little shy but still soft, always so soft.

“You text me when you're back home, yeah?” Even says, tilting his head a little to the side.

“Yeah,” Isak nods.

And then Isak wraps Even in a tight hug. It's warm and comforting, but the sudden of it and his own surprise still manage to knock the air out of his lungs. But it’s still probably the best hug he's ever received. Although he’s taken aback at first, he doesn't hesitate to hug the other boy back with the exact same tight grip and comfort.

Even sighs internally as he sees the headlights of the tram rounding the corner, it's only a matter of seconds before he has to let go of the other boy.

“I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?” Isak asks as they let go of each other. His eyes are sparkling full of promises like they did at the night of the Halloween party.

“Yeah,” Even smiles at him. And there are a million other things Even wants to say, a million other things sitting on his tongue, but nothing of it feels right to say at this moment. “Thanks for the hangout, Is.”

“I hope my friends weren't too weird or nosy,” Isak smiles.

Even shakes his head “They are lovely, just like you.”

His hand reaches up to Isak's cheek, and he gently brushes his thumb over the soft skin there. Isak leans in the touch and it's a moment in which time seems to stand still. In which the world around them doesn't matter. Just the two of them. Isak and Even. Even and Isak.

The tram stops in front of them, more people than Even expected are streaming out of it, but he doesn’t really care, it doesn’t matter how many people are around them, because the only one he’s seeing right now is the boy in front of him. Isak.

He leans his forehead against Isak's and brushes their noses together. The touch is warm, even though their skin is cold from the freezing air outside. Isak's smile gets brighter, and he leans closer to place a kiss on Even's cheek.

Even can feel the touch of Isak's lips down to his toes, his whole body getting warm and dizzy at the same time. And he wonders if Isak felt the same when he kissed his cheek the other day at Central Station.

“You gotta go,” Isak whispers and Even looks at him with a puzzled look on his face. And Isak repeats with a tender smile “You gotta get on the tram, Evy.”

It takes him another few seconds before he processes Isak's words, but then he smiles at the younger boy and gets on the tram. He sits down right beside the window. He turns his head and his eyes meet Isak's again.

Isak stands out there with rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes, he looks like an angel sent from heaven. He waves Even as the tram starts to move and Even waves back with the most love-drunk smile on his lips.

_I'm in love with you. I really am in love with you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I finished this chapter I realized that I haven't written about Isak playing football in a while. So guess what definitely will happen next chapter :)♥  
> As always I hope you enjoyed the new chapter ♥  
> And I can't say it often enough, so thank you so so so much for leaving kudos and your lovely comments. It really means the world to me ♥♥  
> Oh and I almost forgot, here's [Isak's Insta](https://www.instagram.com/isak_val/), just in case you're curious what pics Even's been looking at ♥  
> \--  
> Mir, you've been patient with me, like always. Thank you for being that amazing person you are ♥ I hope you loved that chapter as much as you loved the ones before ♥ Without you this story wouldn't exist, so thank you again for making me watch the WC 2018 and placing this idea in my head ♥ I love you so much ♥


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